The 22-year-old from Snarøya can look back on a brilliant 2021. Five ATP titles, eighth place in the world rankings, and semi-finals in the ATP Playoffs are some of the highlights.
However, Rudd feels he has things to retaliate against him in 2022.
These days, the world eater is in warmer regions to rest his body and head after a long season. However, he has no plans to continue his rest when he returns from vacation.
– I’m happy with everything I’ve achieved. But of course there were some bitter losses as well. Especially in the Grand Slam tournaments, which were tough. But it is building momentum in the next few years. This is where performance comes in at their best, Rudd tells TV 2.
Looking forward to the start of the season
At the Australian Open, Rudd ran against Rublev in the fourth round. At the French Open, high expectations were placed on Rudd. There, he ran into the third round against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. At Wimbledon, the Norwegian smoked in the first round, before smoking in the second round at the US Open.
As Rudd himself says, 2021 was not the year he gave his best Grand Slam performance. These are the tournaments you play in to get the most points. The above seven on the list were able to benefit to an even greater extent.
They did a good job in the Grand Slam which I didn’t get this year. This is where the biggest points lie, so I have something to pick up there. But I also have something to defend with the number of titles I’ve won this year.
After the New Year, Rudd will return to play in Australia to play the ATP Cup. Then comes the first major tournament in 2022, the Australian Open. The 22-year-old is looking forward to it. He is also aware that he is looking forward more to the French Open because it is played on gravel.
– Beat a little too comfortably
However, it’s not just Grand Slam tournaments that Rudd will exact revenge on in 2022. In Turin, world number one Novak Djokovic and world number two Daniil Medvedev met each other. There were two losses in two matches as Rudd himself described the level of opponents as being too high for him.
– They win quite a bit, very comfortably. I wish I had paid them more. You can see that they have equipment that I don’t have. I don’t like to experience it. The biggest goal would be to get the equipment they own where they almost don’t fail.
– How will you wear this gear?
– It will require a lot of training and maybe some changes in the game. But I’m ready to take what’s coming. It will be my biggest task if I want to prove myself completely, at the top. I probably wouldn’t change that much technically, but being able to respond to flat beats with flat beats in return is another tangible thing I want to work on more, reveals Rudd.
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