"He looked at Rafael Nadal as his idol, he really wanted to be on that center court one day" - Casper Ruud's dad on his son's tennis journey

Rafael Nadal continues to find mention at the US Open even after losing his fourth-round match in New York. Casper Ruud's father Christian, who played an instrumental role in his son's tennis career, revealed that Casper looked up to Nadal as his idol.

The 23-year-old Ruud stormed into the semifinals of the US Open with a 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4) win over 13th seed Matteo Berrettini.

Over the course of a press conference at Flushing Meadows, Christian Ruud, who had an all-time high world ranking of No. 39 in the early 1990s, stressed that he never had to push his son too hard.

"He was a kid that really liked sports, so he did well in all the sports. When he was 11, 12, he said to me he wanted to go more on the tennis. Then, I started to help him a little bit more because he wanted it that way. Kind of when he was 13 years old, he did well in the European Championship in Under-14," Ruud disclosed.

"Then I kind of saw that he had something special in a way, and from that point I was, you know, more into it. I didn't feel like we were pushing him. I think he really wanted to see how far he could reach. He was already starting to look at Rafa as his idol, so he really was into the tennis world and he wanted to be on that center court one day," he added.

Christian Ruud also mentioned that as a child, Casper was a gifted athlete and the two also played soccer, ice hockey and golf as well.

"I think I was quite young when I became a father. I was 26 or 27. So I had a lot of energy. I was still playing pro. I wanted to play with my son. So, we did a lot of other sports like all the other kids. He did soccer and he did ice hockey and a lot of golf also.bbI think he was introduced to all the sports. I actually didn't coach him that much when he was young. He was in the club, and he was coached by the coaches in the club," Ruud added.

---

Carlos Alcaraz keeps Spanish flag flying at US Open in Rafael Nadal's absence

Rafael Nadal bowed out of the 2022 US Open in the fourth round.

Carlos Alcaraz overcame a determined Marin Cilic to book a place in the quarterfinals of the US Open even as his idol Rafael Nadal made a fourth-round exit.

The young Spaniard kept his calm as the match progressed into the wee hours on Tuesday. Nadal's fans, who were understandably disappointed after watching the 22-time Grand Slam champion go down to Frances Tiafoe, will be cheering for the 22-time Grand Slam winner's compatriot Alcaraz, who will take on Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals.