Casper Ruud has hit back at critics who thought that he didn’t take Wimbledon and the grass season seriously because he chose to go to The Weeknd’s concerts. The world No 11 didn’t play any warm-up events because he went to two shows in Europe, and later went to a London gig after crashing out of the singles at Wimbledon. Ruud has now claimed that those who disagreed with his decision were “boring” and explained that players deserved to have lives outside of tennis.
While Ruud has built a reputation on the tennis court – reaching three Grand Slam finals, winning 10 titles and peaking at No 2 in the world – he has also become known for one of his off-court interests. The 24-year-old is a huge fan of The Weeknd and made it known this summer when he went to three concerts during the grass-court season.
Instead of playing a tour-level event like Queen’s or Halle ahead of Wimbledon, the Norwegian went to the After Hours Til Dawn tour in Stockholm and Oslo. Ruud then competed at SW19 but crashed out to Liam Broady in the second round on July 6 and, a day later, he went to another Weeknd concert at the London Stadium while he was still in the doubles draw.
Ruud received some backlash from those who thought he should have played more grass tournaments and was prioritising The Weeknd over Wimbledon. But the world No 11 stands by his decision to go to the concerts. “I’m happy I got to see him three times this summer and honestly I could’ve watched him three times more no problem,” he said.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news.
Just in Andy Murray links up with Boris Becker’s latest protege in Australian Open prep[LATEST]
“I’m a big fan and just love the concerts and the visuals that he brings to the concerts. It’s incredible and when you watch your favourite artist perform there’s almost no better feeling in the world.” Ruud also pointed out that the concerts were in the evenings as he hit back at critics who had a “boring life”.
He added: “So people might question whether I took grass court serious enough or what but it’s 10pm. We have a life outside of tennis as well. If people are going to question whether going to a concert or not is the best thing, they have a very boring life I think.”
It also may have been Ruud’s final chance to see ‘The Weeknd’ as the artist, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, has hinted that he will no longer be performing under the moniker and could release music under another name. After seeing The Weeknd on the night of July 7, Ruud was back in action for his first-round doubles match at Wimbledon the following morning with William Blumberg.
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
Don’t miss…
Novak Djokovic accused of ‘wanting to be Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal'[QUOTES]
Nick Kyrgios savages Boris Becker again as feud takes nasty turn with jail jibe[REACTION]
Carlos Alcaraz suffers Australian Open blow with coach to be replaced[UPDATE]
They beat Roberto Carballes Baena and Daniel Galan 6-3 6-2 before withdrawing with Ruud citing shoulder pain. The 10-time title winner has been putting his concert outings to good use, however, as he explained that he rewatched videos to get his adrenaline going ahead of matches.
Ruud competed in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London last week, where DJs play music between every rally and sometimes during the points. After learning to play through the distraction, the 24-year-old shared his personal choice when it came to pre-match music. “A little bit of a mix but this year I’ve been to three of The Weeknd’s concerts so I’ve rewatched many of them many times,” Ruud explained.
“It’s really cool to go to concerts, you get the adrenaline going in a completely different way so just rewatching videos from a concert gets you really going so that’s been the music of the year for me and next year let’s see what happens.”
Source: Read Full Article
