Novak Djokovic puts pressure on you to take more risks: Casper Ruud

PARIS: Casper Ruud dissected Novak Djokovic's French Open triumph expertly in the press room.


The Norwegian, who was handed a three-hour, 13-minute lesson on how and when to raise your game, came away wiser, though not necessarily smarter. Blame it on the Serb.

"If you hit a strong forehand, close to the line, against any other person, most of the time, it 's going to be a winner, but Novak will read it and he's going to get there," Ruud said. "So, you know that you have to hit it this much closer to the line or on the line. " The pressures of playing the world No. 1.

"He puts pressure on you to take more risks. Against him you want to try to play as aggressively as possible, because if you're too much o n the defence, he'll just control the game. He'll put in some drop shots, and play from corner to corner," Ruud said.

In the six tie-breaks Djokovic contested this fortnight, the 36-year-old didn't commit a single unforced error. That's 55 points! "Either he plays ridiculous defence or he plays beautiful winners. He just doesn't commit any mistakes," Ruud said of the Serb in the shootout. That's precisely where the final turned on Sunday.


"He locks in and makes you have to play either ridiculously well to win the points or he steps up with a winner himself," said the 24-year-old, who is yet to take a set off Djokovic.

"He knows how and when to step up. He's played so many matches, he knows just where he has to raise his level."