Carlos Alcaraz has revealed that tennis is not the only sport in which Casper Ruud excels after meeting his rival on the golf course. The Spaniard explained that a round of golf with Ruud had been on the cards for a long time after they learned of their shared love for the sport.
Alcaraz is a keen golfer and has previously shared pictures of himself enjoying a round while relaxing away from the tennis court. The two-time Wimbledon champion has expressed the importance of not thinking about tennis all the time.
But Alcaraz will need to brush up on his golf skills if he is to have any chance against Ruud, with the Norwegian promising a rematch next year. The 21-year-old says Ruud’s ability with clubs is “on another level”.
“Yeah, we played golf together. We talked a lot about playing one day in the previous tournaments,” Alcaraz said at the US Open.
“Here finally we made it happen. He’s another level in golf. He plays unbelievable. We talked a lot about how good golf is for our minds to disconnect and turn off our minds.
“Just to be better on court and at the tournaments. We can’t think 24/7 about tennis. You have to have your life as well.
“Just trying to do other things and trying to think about other things. To have 100 per cent battery to be better on court and think clearly, golf helps a lot with that.”
Ruud is keen for a rematch with Alcaraz but says one will not take place until 2025.
“That was really fun, a good day on the course. Carlos invited me to play so of course I was going to say yes,” the 25-year-old told Eurosport earlier this week.
“It was a good round at a beautiful club. I had a great time and I think we will try to get a rematch in, maybe next year when we come back.”
Both players have enjoyed a positive start to the US Open but Alcaraz was forced to navigate a four-set battle with Australian opponent Li Tu. The four-time Grand Slam champion, who won in Flushing Meadows two years ago, won 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-1.
Meanwhile, Ruud overcame Chinese player Bu Yunchaokete with relative ease. He won 7-6 6-2 6-2.
