Very frank, Ruud justifies his choice to play in a tournament the week before Roland Garros: "Why don't you come here and play some real matches?"

Casper Ruud arrives at Roland-Garros with reinvigorated confidence. After a thunderous start to the clay-court season (finalist in Monte-Carlo, title winner in Barcelona), the Norwegian had stalled a little (eighth-finalist in Madrid and beaten from the start in Rome). Entered in Geneva, he finally bounced back at the right moment, claiming an 11th career title, his third in Geneva.

After a solid week, he didn't have to force his talent, sometimes playing with more restraint, to win another trophy. Asked about his choice to play in Switzerland ahead of Roland Garros, where he has a final to defend, Ruud admitted he had Paris in mind, but explained that there was no better preparation than official matches. He even went so far as to call on his rivals to do the same: "Look at all the players who are in Paris, what are they doing in training? They play matches! So why don't you come here and play real matches, instead of doing the same thing in training (matches)?"