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Casper Ruud recently condemned the lack of facilities for the players at the 2024 Miami Open and found support from tennis fans on social media.
Ruud took on France's Luca Van Assche in a second-round showdown at Miami Gardens on Saturday, March 23, and came out on top after a tough fight. He defeated Van Assche 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-1, outperforming the Frenchman on second serves with a 58% conversion rate.
At one point in the match, however, he complained to the chair official about everything he felt was wrong at the tournament. He highlighted that the change rooms had no towels and cold water.
"Trailer with no towels, no cold water and just plastic chairs to change, this is a joke to me. And you know why it is… Because no other tournament is too cheap to put up something good for the players," Casper Ruud told the umpire.
"Players come here every year to play, to put on a show in front of tens of thousands of people and then they treat us like this. You go to a trailer for five minutes in a room with nothing and just a plastic chair to change," he added.
The seventh seed asked the official to report his account to the ATP. He said:
"It's not your fault, I'm just saying how bad it is. I know you didn’t know but I’m telling you now and you have to take it on to the ATP or whoever is in charge. Every time the players complain, nothing happens."
Tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter) rallied behind Ruud with one of them claiming the Norwegian is someone who speaks up only when things go downhill.
"Oh… Casper is normally quiet… That says a lot," the fan wrote.
Another fan chimed in, saying:
"Casper's a very levelheaded guy - very giving of his time, great with fans, player advocate - not a diva by any stretch. If he's expressing something this strongly, it's likely got a good deal of validity."
Here are a few more reactions:
Casper Ruud set to play against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Miami Open 3R
Casper Ruud set up a third-round meeting with Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina with his victory over Luca Van Assche at the Miami Open. He has faced Davidovich Fokina thrice on the tour thus far and trails 1-2 in the head-to-head.
The two first played against each other at the ATP Next Gen Finals 2019, where Ruud registered a 3-4 (2), 4-3 (2), 4-2, 3-4 (2), 4-1 win. In the remaining two duels, played at the French Open 2021 and Canadian Open 2023, Davidovich Fokina came out on top.
Both Casper Ruud and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina received a bye in the first round. The Spaniard went past China's Shang Juncheng 6-3, 7-5 in his second-round match.
