Casper Ruud beat the Japanese player for the third time in four meetings and he is now two wins away from lifting his first hard court title since 2021. 

He has dropped just one set in the Dallas Open far and Ruud handled the challenges that come with playing a left handed player, something he previously struggled with.

Casper Ruud shares why he once struggled against left-handed players

After Ruud defeated Nishioka, he commented on an aspect of his game which involves playing against left-handed players.

This came just a day after he explained to Tennis Channel where he wants to improve on indoor hard courts.

Ruud appeared on the same channel to admit that he previously struggled against lefties, but he has made improvements in this area.

Explaining what those are, Ruud said: “At the beginning of my career I was really struggling against lefties.

“They would kind of block me down to my backhand corner. I didn’t have many answers to their somewhat not loopy shots but like heavy higher shots that would bounce up to my backhand.

“I found that really tough. I think I’ve improved and I’m able to kind of step in and maybe sometimes even slice it and go down the line more often and change up the rhythm. So it’s something I’ve worked a lot on and I think I have improved since I came on tour.”

What is Casper Ruud’s record against left handed players?

Over the course of his career, Ruud has played 54 matches against left handed players.

The World number five has emerged victorious in 34 of those encounters, which gives him a win percentage of 63%.

The greatest left handed player Ruud competed against was Rafael Nadal who he played twice in 2022.

Their first meeting came in the 2022 French Open final. Nadal won 6-3 6-3, 6-0 to lift the final Grand Slam title of his illustrious career.

Ruud played Nadal for the second time at the ATP Finals. This was their final round robin match of the tournament.

The Spaniard, who was already out after losing his first two matches, defeated Ruud 7-5, 7-5 to end the tournament and his season with a victory. 

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