Casper Ruud mocks Italy’s soccer misery after defeat to Jannik Sinner in Rome

Casper Ruud had little answer for Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s Italian Open final, losing 6-4, 6-4 to the world number one in Rome.

Sinner’s win was historic. At 24, he became the youngest man to win all nine Masters events and the first to win six Masters titles in a row.

Ruud still handled the defeat with class, praising Sinner and the wider strength of Italian tennis during his on-court runner-up speech.

But the Norwegian also found room for a joke, turning briefly from tennis to soccer and reminding the Italian crowd of a painful qualifying story.

Casper Ruud praises Italian tennis before Norway soccer joke

After the straight-sets loss, Ruud said (via The Tennis Letter): “I wanted to say to the Italian tennis federation you are doing an incredible job. With what Jannik is doing and also after Jannik, you have 6, 7, 8 unbelievable players who are taking tennis by storm.”

He then added: “I know that in soccer it’s a different story at the moment. Sorry. When you’re losing to Norway we have to be able to make a bit of jokes.”

The comment landed because Norway and Italy shared Group I in European World Cup qualifying. Norway finished top, qualifying directly with eight wins from eight matches.

Italy’s damage came largely against Ruud’s country. Norway beat them twice, including a convincing 4-1 victory in November that underlined the gap between the sides.

Those defeats sent Italy into the playoffs, where their nightmare deepened. They were knocked out by Bosnia and Herzegovina, missing a third consecutive World Cup.

As Sinner is a well-known soccer fan, Ruud’s line was the only way for him to get quick revenge over the world number one.

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