“It appears he’s in a better frame of mind this year going into the first major than last year,” argued Lindsay Davenport, noting Ruud’s physical improvements. “He’s got to use his forehand. He’s got to defend the backhand corner, but he’s got to be able to finish points with the forehand.”
“I think Casper puts so much topspin on his forehand that he spins out too much,” echoed Navratilova. “He needs to take some of the spin out and go for more punch on the forehand. That’s the play for so many guys but he still plays it too safe on the forehand.”
Ruud is a proven commodity on hard courts, finishing runner-up at the 2022 US Open, but with a game built for clay has enjoyed his best success at Roland Garros, where Jon Wertheim predicts he is most likely to lift a major trophy.
“I think some of this is mindset and some of this is having matches like yesterday where, yes, he got through in five sets, but that’s not the kind of first outing you want when you’re a Top 10 seed trying to win seven matches,” said Wertheim.
“At times yesterday, [the forehand] left him and he started panicking. Munar did a great job taking advantage of it,” agreed Davenport.
