Casper Ruud explains why he chose to play an exhibition event in Las Vegas before Indian Wells

Casper Ruud played the MGM Slam in Las Vegas before Indian Wells.

The Norwegian was joined by Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Reilly Opelka, Joao Fonseca, Gael Monfils, and Alexander Bublik.

Brazilian star Fonseca won the title and $300,000 in Vegas, defeating Opelka in the final.

During a recent interview, Ruud shared why he chose to play the exhibition.

Casper Ruud admits ‘those offers’ don’t come every single week

After winning his third-round match at Indian Wells, Ruud spoke to the ‘Tennis Channel‘ about his participation in the MGM Slam.

“I mean, it was a one-day event. Easy for us players,” he said.

“Of course, I wish I had gone deeper. I played Reilly [Opelka], who played a really good match; a tiebreaker against Reilly is not always the easiest!

“But whenever there is a one-day thing, nearby, the schedule works out, why not?

“Those opportunities, those offers don’t come every single week, so every now and then, it’s fun to do.

“I always enjoy trying to play tennis in cities that don’t have ATP tournaments. Vegas have had short matches in the past, but they don’t have an ATP Tour tournament.

“They have a Challenger, which I played, and I enjoyed my time there.

“It’s fairly similar to here, dry, similar altitude, and of course, you can do pretty much anything you want to, there.

“But, yeah, it was a fun one-day event, a lot of players showed up, it was good.”

Ruud went out for dinner with some of his MGM Slam rivals and ended up fronting the bill.

“Reilly is the guy to ask if you want a good restaurant or good food; he knows a lot about food and culture, and everything,” said Ruud.

“He was going to take me for dinner, then during the dinner it switched around, it was on me at the end of the night

“I don’t know how that happened, but he owes me a nice dinner!”

Ruud missed out on the title at the MGM Slam, but remains alive in the Indian Wells draw…

Casper Ruud faces Carlos Alcaraz test at Indian Wells

The former world number two will meet Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round of Indian Wells.

“Carlos [Alcaraz], like you said, is probably the hardest current challenge in tennis,” said Ruud.

“But we’re all human, everyone is beatable, even though he doesn’t always seem like it, so I’m just going to go home, rest, recover tomorrow, and hopefully be ready for a good match.”

Ruud has a losing 1-5 head-to-head record against Alcaraz.

Only time will tell if he can pick up a rare win over the Spaniard when they face off for a spot in the Indian Wells quarterfinals.

Ruud will play Alcaraz in the fourth round of Indian Wells on Wednesday, March 11.