Ruud beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 2-1 in sets on Tuesday. The Norwegian lost the opening set, but lifted the game in sets number two and three and eventually emerged victorious.

After the match, he was partially satisfied with his own game, and at the same time revealed that he was looking forward to the start at Rolland-Garros on May 22. The tournament spans the next two weeks and is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world of tennis.

– It was a good feeling to win the game. It was a tough first set that didn’t work out and was hard to accept. I managed to stay calm and change my style of play a bit, which probably stressed him out a bit. That was probably the answer for today’s win, Ruud told NTB.

In the next game on Thursday, Ruud will meet either Belgian David Goffin or American Jenson Brooksby. If the Norwegian wins based on this duel, Rafael Nadal can wait for the quarter-finals. The two have trained a lot together since Ruud turned professional.

Nadal meets Canadian Denis Shapovalov on Wednesday.

Equal conditions

Ruud further said that the conditions in Rome are quite similar to those in Paris and he is looking to gain confidence in the tournament in the French capital.

– The conditions here are relatively similar to those in Paris. It bounces pretty well here. The courses here are not quite on the same level as in Paris, but I hope I can get two good results here (Rome) and at Roland-Garros this year, said Ruud.

– There are two big goals, so I hope that the great form will both come here in Paris. I’ve been training hard over the past few days and weeks to get there, so we’ll see if it works.

– The last test

Dad and coach Christian Ruud share his son’s thoughts on the similarities between Rome and Paris. He is aware that bringing confidence to a tournament of such magnitude can be decisive.

– That’s probably somewhat true. It’s pretty close to Roland-Garros, so if you feel like you’ve got the form inside a week before, you can float on it a bit. Rome is the last test where all the best are involved, and if you succeed there, of course you will enter with good confidence, he told NTB after his son’s victory on Tuesday.