Casper Ruud jokingly said he and Ons Jabeur have a strong bond because they both lost two Grand Slam finals last year.
In 2022, 24-year-old Ruud made two Grand Slam finals – the Norwegian was beaten by Rafael Nadal in the French Open final and he also lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final.
On the other side, 28-year-old Jabeur also made her first two Grand Slam finals last year – the Tunisian lost against Elena Rybakina in the Wimbledon final and she also fell short to Iga Swiatek in the US Open final.
On Tuesday, Ruud and Jabeur competed together at the Eisenhower Cup – a mixed doubles Tie Break Tens event.
“She’s very nice. Ons and I, we both lost two finals last year of Slams, so we kind of have that together, we have a strong bond now. We have a lot in common. It was a great atmosphere,” Ruud jokingly said, per Sportskeeda.
Jabeur enjoyed playing alongside Ruud
In their first match at the Eisenhower Cup, Jabeur and Ruud defeated USA’s Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul 10-5.
Jabeur and Ruud’s run ended in the semifinal with a 10-8 loss against Aryna Sabalenka and Taylor Fritz.
Jabeur absolutely enjoyed playing mixed doubles with Ruud and now hopes she and the Norwegian will enjoy successful singles campaigns in the desert.
“It was just about having fun and you know, Casper was really supportive. It was a great experience playing with him. It’s amazing. Hopefully, it’s a good start for both of us for the tournament,” Jabeur said.
Meanwhile, Jabeur is playing her first tournament in two months.
Jabeur started her 2023 season in Australia, where she competed at the Adelaide International and Australian Open.
In Australia, Jabeur appeared to be dealing with a knee injury.
After the Australian Open, Jabeur had a minor surgical procedure.
Now, JabeurĀ is the fourth-seeded player in Indian Wells and has a first-round bye.