"I don't mind being a clay courter" says Casper Ruud citing Rafael Nadal as his inspiration

Casper Ruud did some incredible this year when he won 3 clay events back to back. The Norwegian is enjoying a breakout season that saw him break into the top 10 for the first time in his fairly young career. Like Nadal, he prefers clay over other surfaces and the Norwegian does not mind the label of being a clay courter. He said:

“I think winning those three tournament back-to-backs was something special and something that raises your confidence and belief in yourself, definitely. I don’t mind being a clay court player. [Rafael] Nadal is the perfect example.”

Like Nadal, Ruud employs a heavy topspin forehand that is very similar to Nadal's. The only difference is that Ruud plays it with his right hand instead of the left hand Nadal uses. The Norwegian spent a lot of time at Nadal's tennis academy practicing with the Spaniard:

“It’s possible for heavy topspin players to play well on [all] the surfaces and [Nadal] is the type of player that I looked up to for many years and will try to learn from when it comes to this transition from clay court to hard court."