Casper Ruud said he was suffering from the same illness as Aryna Sabalenka after missing out on a place in the French Open final. Ruud was beaten in four sets by Alexander Zverev, who came from behind to claim the spoils and set up a final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.
The first set went Ruud’s way but Zverev levelled up in the second and went on to turn the screw as he secured a 2-6 6-2 6-4 6-2 triumph. Ruud was bent over on the baseline on a few occasions and looked like he was physically struggling during the changeovers in the third and fourth set.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Norwegian admitted that he was ill and suggested that he may have caught the same bug as Sabalenka, who said earlier this week that she was suffering from a stomach issue.
“I was watching the match, actually Sabalenka, and she also seemed maybe a little bit unwell,” said Ruud. “I’m not sure if there’s something going around, I don’t think so, because it’s been only her and I, I think. Maybe just unlucky.
“Maybe it was something I picked up in my dinner last night, maybe it was from the breakfast this morning, or something just before that I got in my stomach. I don’t have the answers now, but I just, you know, disappointed that it had to be today. Why couldn’t it be yesterday or the day before when I had three days off?
“It was a bit unlucky. I was really looking forward to the match. In a way I started well, but yeah, I wasn’t able to keep it up, unfortunately. Just, yeah, unfortunate.”
Ruud explained that he felt unable to perform at his best due to the pain in his stomach, but said that he did not want to make excuses for his performance and gave credit to Zverev for stepping up when it mattered.
He added: “Towards the middle, end of the first set, I started feeling some discomfort, an ache in my stomach, so I wasn’t able to keep the intensity and the energy level up.
“It was something that was bothering me, just kind of limiting me, if that’s a word, to play the way I want to. It was a pity. Yeah, it’s not something I think is very serious or going to last for a long time, but something that came up in the first set. I won the first set, so it was a good feeling, but I didn’t feel very well even in the first set.
“Then the last three went, you know, quick because Sascha played well, of course, but I wasn’t able to play the kind of tennis I like to play with intensity because I was kind of limited with my stomach. You know, I don’t want to make an excuse or excuses, but it’s frustrating and disappointing.”
