Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime weigh in on if Rafael Nadal’s pre-match routine is intimidating ahead of French Open

It has been said that sometimes players are beaten before they step on the court with the greats.

How daunting must it be, for example, to face Rafael Nadal at the French Open, where he has a 112-3 win-loss record and has lifted the trophy 14 times?

If there is an intimidation factor it is perhaps only added to when players have to stand in the tunnel before facing Nadal.

While most players stand and wait with their bags to be called out, Nadal is often energised and warming up with sprints up and down the corridor.

Those pre-match moments were shown on Netflix’s Break Point series when Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud were facing Nadal at the French Open last year.

Auger-Aliassime and Ruud both stood in the corridor looking on as Nadal, who was just a few metres away, jumped up and down and hit practice shots.

Was there an intimidation factor behind Nadal’s routine?

Even though both went on to lose – Auger-Aliassime in the last 16 and Ruud in the final – they do not think the pre-match activity had anything to do with the outcome.

“People say I already lost the match before going on court and that might be true, but if I had won it might be like ‘Casper won because he stayed cool’, you can turn it around however you want.

“That’s his routine. What the cameras didn’t show was we were both in the gym for 30 minutes beforehand warming up and doing everything. I was sweating and ready to go.

“I knew it was going to happen and I knew he was going to pull it out or do it, but it didn’t really make a difference.

“I mean obviously he killed me and destroyed me, but I don’t think it was because he did those steps in the locker room…people might think that, but I don’t think that.

“I think his match record of 105-3 at Roland-Garros is intimidating enough as it is.”

Ruud was beaten in straight sets by Nadal in the final while Auger-Aliassime took Nadal the distance before losing in the last 16.

“It does come out dramatic,” said Auger-Aliassime.

“I remember being there thinking ‘this is good’ seeing him running up and down, it was that last percentage of intensity before we go out on court.

“He brings a lot of intensity. For us we are young and we have seen Rafa all these years and you’re about to go and play him there on centre court, it’s special.”

It is still unclear if Nadal will return to the French Open this year as he is recovering from injury.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t played since the Australian Open in January and if he does play in Paris he will do so with no competitive clay preparation for the first time in his career.

Taylor Fritz, who beat Nadal at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2022, thinks there is also something to be said for remaining calm ahead of a match rather than expending energy.

“You could argue the other way and say it’s very intimidating to do nothing and be super calm and just like ‘I got this, I don’t need to do all this extra stuff’.

“I think he does it for himself, everyone has their own process and their own thing and there’s not a right or wrong way to do it.”

Matteo Berrettini also asked whether Nadal does the routine “for himself or us”.

“I think it’s for himself, I don’t think he tries to scare us.”

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