Ruud, Alcaraz’s rival in Paris, reveals the ordeal he has experienced: “It was the first time I felt the need to turn off the alarm clock in the morning. I trained because it was my job, not because I wanted to improve. It scared me to feel that. I sought help.”

Casper Ruud will look for a place in the final of the Paris Masters 1000 this Saturday. The Norwegian is experiencing one of the best weeks of the season and will seek to put his rival, Carlos Alcaraz, in trouble, who staged a great comeback in his quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz.

This is a great opportunity for Ruud, who not long ago experienced the worst side of tennis, a moment of crisis about which he spoke at length in an interview with the newspaper ‘L’Equipe’.

“Last year I had some mental problems. I was not feeling well psychologically, but I sought helpit worked and I got a quick response. I started to feel a lot better, so it helped me a lot to have someone to talk to about certain things,” explained the former world number 2.

“The matches are exciting, but they are also extremely mentally draining. When you play so many tournaments, it is difficult to find time to improve as a tennis player. The workouts become very repetitive and you end up wondering if you can still progress“Ruud continued.

“It’s difficult because you don’t have time to breathe, come home for a month or two and really train, working on specific aspects of your game. All of this meant that last year I reached a point where I no longer felt like getting up and going to train when the alarm rang in the morning.. Until then I had always trained because I felt like it. In that period, however, I did it because I had to” confessed the Norwegian tennis player.

“It scared me to feel that. It wasn’t pleasant. I sought help and tried to manage the situation in the best way possible.. We found a solution and several techniques I can use if that feeling overcomes me again. But I hope it doesn’t happen again,” Ruud said.

“I did everything possible to get out of that state and this season things are going much better. I have become aware that my career will not last forever and that I have to try to enjoy it during the years I have left on the circuit. But yes, sometimes it is difficult to overcome certain situations” concluded the Norwegian.