"The first memory I have from tennis is watching Rafael Nadal on TV, when he won the French Open for the first time" - Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud recently revealed that Rafael Nadal was the spark that led him down the path of becoming a professional player. In an interview with the Tennis Channel, Ruud recalled Nadal's first title at Roland Garros back in 2005, referring to it as the moment where he got the motivation to play tennis.

It was only after watching the Spaniard excel in Paris that Ruud decided he wanted to play on the big stage.

"The first memory I have from tennis is watching Rafael Nadal on TV, when he won the French Open for the first time," Ruud said. "I remember thinking, I want to be playing on the big stage one day. That's where the first motivation came."

Ruud went on to express gratitude for his runs at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Masters for his climb up the rankings. The 23-year-old chalked up his newfound confidence to his deep runs at these tournaments, remarking that they made him believe he could go toe-to-toe against the best players in the world.

Casper Ruud reached the semifinals at both Masters tournaments as an unseeded player, and defeated four seeded players across the two events. He eventually lost to Andrey Rublev in Monte-Carlo and Matteo Berrettini in Madrid.

"Looking back on breaking into the top 10, it has been a dream of mine," Ruud said. "[The 2021] Monte-Carlo and Madrid [Masters] were game-changers for me and gave me the confidence to keep going and thinking, 'I can compete with the best players on the biggest stages in the world'."

Casper Ruud further acknowledged that his playing style was most suited to clay, which made his early exit at the 2021 French Open all the more disappointing. As the 15th seed, the Norwegian suffered a shock five-set defeat against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round.

Instead of being discouraged, however, Ruud saw the loss as a learning experience. The World No. 8 claimed he wants to use his "bitter" emotions as motivation to come back stronger in 2022 and go even further at the tournament.

"I enjoy playing on clay," Ruud said. "I think my game style suits the surface better because the ball bounces up a little bit more. My spin shots are a bit heavier on the clay and it is tougher for my opponents. Unfortunately, it did not go as well as I hoped in Roland Garros. That was a very tough and bitter loss. At the same time it gives me the motivation to come back."

"The three weeks where I won back-to-back-to-back is something I will always remember" - Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud revealed that he would never forget the ATP Tour hatttrick in 2021

Looking back at the highs of the breakthrough 2021 season, Casper Ruud recalled his ATP Tour hat-trick with fondness and claimed he would never forget the achievement.

The Norwegian won Bastad, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel back-to-back-to-back, becoming the first man since Andy Murray in 2011 to win titles in three consecutive weeks.

"The three weeks where I won back-to-back-to-back is something I will always remember," Ruud said. "The third one is remarkable because it was the third one in a row but all of them tasted just as good as the other ones."

Despite breaking into the top 10 in the ATP rankings, Ruud's best finish at a Grand Slam has been reaching the fourth round. He wants to correct that record in 2022, revealing that one of his goals this year is to reach the last eight at a Major.

Casper Ruud also called those ahead of him in the rankings "ridiculously good tennis players", which he believes makes it tough to win a Slam right now. But the World No. 8 is cautiously optimistic about his chances, and expressed hope that he could win at least one Slam in the next five years.

"One of my goals is to reach the quarterfinals of a Slam," Ruud said. "I have seven players in front of me who are ridiculously good tennis players, so let's see in five years who has some Slams and who doesn't. But if I have one, I will obviously be very happy."