So it came as no surprise when Norwegian tennis star Casper Ruud revealed that playing the Swiss maestro in the French Open led to him gaining popularity in his own home country.
The World No. 36 faced off against Roger Federer in the third round of the French Open in 2019, and was blown away by the Swiss legend 6-3 6-1 7-6. The match did, however, lead to him becoming a household name in Norway.
Everyone in Norway knows who Roger Federer is: Casper Ruud
As reported by tennisnet, the Norwegian talked about how the third round encounter at Roland Garros last year led to him amassing supporters in his country - mainly due to Roger Federer’s fandom in Norway.
The 21-year-old further went on to talk about how Roger Federer is a household name across the world, and perhaps the greatest athlete alive. Naturally, a match-up with a local boy would lead to greater recognition.
Ruud was quick to add that the increased support wasn’t overwhelming, but just ’nice'.
Roger Federer stunned fans all over the world last month when he announced that he was going to miss the rest of the ATP season due to injury.
Federer had already taken a break between Australian Open and Wimbledon for an operation on his right knee. But the World No. 4 didn’t have a great rehabilitation period, and had to undergo another procedure on the same knee - which ruled him out of returning to the court this year.
Time will tell whether or not Roger Federer will be back to his best and add to his total of 20 slams, especially with Rafael Nadal (19) and Novak Djokovic (17) hot on his tail. But the Swiss maestro continues to be massively popular across the world, with players like Ruud being beneficiaries of that.
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