Exclusive: Casper Ruud explains why Rafael Nadal is almost unstoppable on clay ahead of French Open

Casper Ruud has explained why he thinks Rafael Nadal is so difficult to beat on clay on the Eurosport podcast, Ruud Talk. Nadal is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player ever, with an unprecedented 14 French Open titles, 11 Monte Carlo titles, 10 triumphs in Rome and is a five-time champion at the Madrid Open.

Ad Ruud was beaten by Nadal, who has delayed his return to tennis due to injury, at the 2022 French Open in straight sets. Roland-Garros'Magical to watch him on clay' — Robson hails Nadal’s incredible pedigree05/04/2023 AT 08:30 “If you want to beat Rafa at Roland-Garros, when you are going out to the match, you are thinking, ‘OK, I'm going to have to play the best match of my life for at least four-and-a-half hours because even though I'm playing great, he will play unbelievable back’,” Ruud said on the latest episode of Ruud Talk, which aired on Friday.

“If I play well, he [Nadal] plays well, so it's going to be a long match. Not many players are prepared to do that I think and that's why you have seen some of the clay court players be so successful on clay.” Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have won just three French Open titles between them, such has been Nadal’s dominance in Paris.

Ruud believes most players are always relying on one of the all-time greats to not be at their best in order to have a chance of winning. “Novak and Roger, they are probably the second-best ever clay-court players,” he added.

“It's just that it's never really talked about because Rafa has all these records, so it's tough. “But anytime you're playing one of these great guys or great players, it's tough because you feel like it could be dependent on them a little bit more, especially on clay where the ball is a little