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Casper Ruud registered his 13th consecutive win by beating Dusan Lajovic in the third round of the 2021 National Bank Open on Thursday. Ruud won 6-4, 6-3 to book his spot in the quarterfinals, where he will face Stefanos Tsitsipas.
After his win, Ruud wrote the words "hard courts" on the camera and drew a smiley below it. And many considered it to be a retort to Nick Kyrgios, who recently made a few remarks about the Norwegian's dominance on clay.
During his post-match press conference Casper Ruud was asked if his message on the camera was directed to a particular person. In response, the 22-year-old insisted that it was more towards a general group of people who doubted his abilities outside the red dirt.
"Oh, more the general," Ruud said. "I mean, I have seen a lot of people, you know, probably questioning my ability to play on hard court, so just thought it was funny to write a little note. It was not to someone specific."
Ruud's scribble on the camera can be seen in the tweet embedded below.
The 22-year-old further revealed that he finds playing on hardcourts "fun", and that he considers it to be a surface that can complement his playing style. Ruud pointed out that his best result at a Slam so far has come on the hardcourts of the Australian Open (fourth round this year).
"I think it's fun to play on hard courts, you know," Ruud said. "Even though I played most of my best results on clay, my best slam result is from this year Australian Open, so, I mean, I think it's a surface that also can suit my game well even though this year has been mainly clay, clay, clay all the year."
Casper Ruud and Nick Kyrgios have been at loggerheads ever since the Aussie threw a chair onto the court during their Italian Open match two years ago. Kyrgios has often taken potshots at the Norwegian, saying he would rather "watch paint dry" than Ruud play on the tennis court.
More recently, the Aussie took aim at the ATP 250 claycourt events that took place after Wimbledon. Kyrgios has never been a fan of claycourt tennis, but many believe he crossed the line by disrespecting his peers as well as the ATP.
Ruud, who won most of the events the Aussie criticized, did not take kindly to Kyrgios' remarks. On one of the ATP Tour's Twitter posts that asked fans to send in their questions for Kyrgios, Ruud asked the Australian to name his favorite claycourt event, subtly reminding him of his poor skills on the surface.
"What’s his favorite clay court tournament?," Ruud tweeted.
The volatile Aussie lost his composure upon reading Ruud's message and retorted with "your mum" on Twitter, which he deleted soon after.
However, Kyrgios then went on to accuse the Norwegian of "stealing points" by winning smaller-scale ATP 250 events.
"My shorts were a bit tight on the legs, so the ball started to fall out" - Casper Ruud on why he doesn't keep a second ball in his pocket while serving
Casper Ruud, in recent months, has been seen taking his service stance without a second ball in his pocket. Players usually keep a second ball in their pocket while serving, as it helps them reload quicker after an erroneous first serve, but Ruud avoids doing that.
When asked to shed some light on his habit, the Norwegian hilariously revealed that it started off because he his shorts were too tight.
"Well, I actually started in Monte-Carlo this year," Ruud said. "With the new line I got from Yonex, the shorts were actually a bit tight on the legs, so the ball started to fall out if I kept it in the pocket. So that's where it started."
Ruud also went on to claim that not keeping a ball in the pocket was a way to "trick" his brain into making the first serve. According to the 22-year-old, when you don't have a second ball in the pocket, you subconsciously think it's your only chance to get the serve in.
"It kind of mentally makes you feel a little bit more pressure - not pressure, but more like need - to make the first serve," Ruud said. "Because, in a way, you kind of trick your brain to think this is your last serve because you don't have another one in your pocket."
The Norwegian further suggested that he doesn't plan to put a halt to the practice as it has served him well in recent months.
"I could, you know, play with the ball in my pocket again now," Ruud said. "But, you know, I had my best wins, my best tournaments of my career with what I was doing, so I just kept it."
