Casper Ruud made his feelings on Carlos Alcaraz clear as he looked ahead to his showdown with the Spaniard at the 2026 Paris Masters.
World No 23 Ruud will face Alcaraz in the semi-finals at the Masters 1000 tournament in Paris on Saturday.
Ruud holds a 1-6 record against Alcaraz, with his only victory against the seven-time major winner coming at the 2024 ATP Finals.
The Norwegian, who downed world No 49 Nuno Borges 7-6(5), 6-4 in the quarter-finals in Paris, has won eight of his last 10 matches in a run that started at the Shanghai Masters.
In his on-court interview, Ruud was asked about his strong recent results.
“I mean, I had a little bit of downtime, a few weeks kind of off during the summer, and I had some personal things, you know, I got married during the grass season. I didn’t play that much during those weeks,” said the 27-year-old.
“And unfortunately, during the Cincinnati Open, I hurt my back, so I didn’t play much tennis in three, four weeks there.
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“And since coming back after my little back problem, I feel like I’ve played some good tennis and tried to just think that, let’s try to be in a good mood, try to be positive, try to feel good energy in your body.
“And for many others who haven’t maybe had those breaks during the year, this time of the year, it’s normal to feel a bit tired, a bit exhausted, mentally, physically, and I’m not there yet, so hopefully I can keep it going for a bit more.”
The three-time Grand Slam finalist then addressed his clash with world No 3 Alcaraz.
“Yeah, we had some tough matches,” said the former world No 2.
“He won the majority of them and really taught me a few lessons here and there, and some of my biggest matches in my career, I saw him on the other side of the net.
“He’s a fantastic guy, a great person, a funny guy to be around, and so good for tennis.
“It’s always a joy to share the court with him, and I’ve been fortunate to be on the winning side once, and let’s see what I can come up with tomorrow.”
Ruud and Alcaraz are both through to the semi-finals at the Paris Masters for the first time.
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