Casper Ruud described his dominant 6-0, 6-1 defeat by Jannik Sinner as “almost fun”.
The Norwegian, aged 26, was comprehensively beaten in just 65 minutes by the world No. 1 in their recent Rome quarter-final match.
Casper Ruud shared a smile as he embraced Jannik Sinner at the net
Ruud was defeated in just over an hour on Campo Centrale
Sinner, 23, is competing in his first tournament since winning the Australian Open in January, having returned after a period away due to injury.
Ruud, conversely, had been in strong form leading up to the Italian Open, having recently claimed the title in Madrid with a victory over Britain`s Jack Draper.
Playing before a passionate home crowd, Sinner delivered a near-perfect performance to overwhelmingly defeat Ruud on Campo Centrale.
Despite the one-sided nature of the match, the three-time Grand Slam finalist appeared to be in good spirits afterwards, smiling as he shared an embrace with Sinner at the net.
Speaking during his post-match press conference, Ruud commented: “It doesn’t feel so bad.”
He continued: “Honestly, I think it was more fun than anything, even though I lost love and one [6-0, 6-1]. It’s like you just look at the guy and say: ‘Wow, this is kind of next-level s***.’ Excuse my language.”
“I don’t know what else to say. It was almost fun to witness at the same time. Of course, I wish it was a closer match.”
“I wish I could have given the people, the fans, a longer or closer match. But I think that I was there ready to play, he was just even readier.”
Sinner, who recently met Pope Francis at the Vatican, reflected on his performance: “It was a great performance. Very happy about that.”
“But things can change quickly, no? Every day is different. Tomorrow is a different opponent.”
“We play again in the night. But still it’s a different match-up. I always try to prepare myself in the best possible way.”
Prior to his recent absence from the tour, Sinner had compiled an impressive 80-6 record since the start of 2024.
Despite missing several months, the reigning Australian Open champion arrived in Rome still comfortably holding the world No. 1 ranking, having remained undefeated since September last year.
In his first match back last Saturday, Sinner defeated Argentina`s Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-4.
This was followed by straight-sets wins against Jesper De Jong and Francisco Cerundolo before his dominant quarter-final victory over Ruud.
Sinner is scheduled to face American Tommy Paul in tomorrow`s semi-finals.
Should he defeat the 11th seed, Sinner would advance to Sunday`s final, potentially facing Carlos Alcaraz (the last player to defeat him) or fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
Sinner was in superb form playing in front of his home crowd
