\u201cIt\u2019s been great this weekend so hopefully it stays the same. I think it\u2019s a great tournament. It\u2019s the only time you have a chance to visit country of New Zealand, as it\u2019s so far away typically for us Europeans. <\/p>\n
\u201cI love spending time here and I\u2019m here because I want to and I would like to come and give it another chance and see if it can be a good lead up to Melbourne.\u201d <\/p>\n
Coming into his fourth ASB Classic, Ruud is yet to win a main-draw match at Stanley Street. In 2018, Ruud progressed through qualifying before falling to Robin Haase in the first round of the main draw. He exited at the same point in 2020, when he was beaten by eventual champion Ugo Humbert.<\/p>\n
Wanting to make amends in the tournament wasn\u2019t the only reason Ruud wanted to return to New Zealand \u2013 and won\u2019t be the only reason he might come back in the future. <\/p>\n
Off the court, the second seed has enjoyed his time in the country and, in large part, the quality of golf courses on offer. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs a golfer, I know they have great golf courses here,\u201d he said after playing nine holes at Royal Auckland and Grange<\/a> on Saturday. <\/p>\n \u201cTwo years ago, we went up to Te Arai,<\/a> which is just next to Tara Iti, which is one of the world\u2019s most famous golf courses. So, hopefully one day I can get out on Tara Iti. It\u2019s one of the courses on my bucket list. So, there\u2019s definitely a big chance that I will come back.\u201d <\/p>\n As the second seed in the tournament, Ruud gets a first-round bye and won\u2019t be in action until the round of 16 begins on Wednesday. That match could turn out to be a blockbuster for fans should defending champion and crowd favourite Gael Monfils<\/a> get through his first-round match against Fabian Marozsan, with the winner meeting Ruud in their next assignment. <\/p>\n Things could, however, change in an instant for the Norwegian. <\/p>\n The 27-year-old and his partner Maria Galligani announced in September they were expecting their first child, and Ruud indicated his daughter could arrive in the coming weeks. <\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, she can come anytime now,\u201d Ruud said. <\/p>\n \u201cSo, I mean, hopefully I get to stay for the rest of the tournament, but you never know. I might get a call and be on the plane back home out of here. It\u2019s no short trip back home, so hopefully she stays in for a few extra weeks and I can be there for the birth.\u201d<\/p>\n Ruud and Galligani were also planning their wedding for later in the year but, for the moment, he said his focus was on his work. <\/p>\n \u201cIt will be a really fun year, but you know, those things, if we put those things aside and think about tennis, I think it can be an exciting year. <\/p>\n \u201cLast season was, in a way, not what I was hoping for, but at the same time I really played some good tennis when I played well and I got two titles last year. <\/p>\n \u201c[I\u2019ll] try to play more like I did those two weeks for this season coming up now.\u201d <\/p>\n