Casper Ruud is all about delivering credit where credit is due.
During a warm handshake after his 6-3 7-5 6-7(4) 6-2 loss to American Jenson Brooksby, the Australian Open 2023 second seed cheekily praised his rival's performance.
"I said, well played, and that he was annoyingly good today," smiled the 24-year-old Norwegian. "I said good luck for the rest of the tournament, as well."
"He played great today…ended up winning many of the longer rallies and had sort of an answer to all the questions that I asked him."
Ruud reflected on 22-year-old Brooksby's deserved win.
"There were many sort of interesting rallies where we were rallying back and forth, playing a little - not cat and mouse, but he had attacked, maybe I came back and was controlling the point, and then somehow he guessed right or came back in the rally again."
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"It's frustrating when you feel like you have the momentum in a rally, and then a player pulls out a shot like he did in the last game for example, where he does that slice down the line on the line, which is the only shot he can play and he's able to do it," Ruud said.
The right-hander was referencing a breathtaking backhand that left the Rod Laver Arena crowd, including chair umpire Carlos Bernades, open-mouthed.
"It's frustrating and annoying at the same time, but at the same time I gave him credit, because he stayed in there and fought well," said Ruud, acknowledging that his younger opponent painted a lot of baselines during their bout.
"Physically it was a tough match…he fought through well and didn't seem to be affected by the duration."
"It's fun to watch him…if he's on and I have a chance to watch, I think it's interesting, because he makes tennis looks a little different from any other player," Ruud said of the American.
"He plays really well. He plays flat, he defends great from both sides."
"It's a tough matchup for me, because I never really get any higher balls or balls where I feel like I can generate my heavy topspin shots that I like to play.
"The few times that I was able to, he counterattacked great from both sides, keeping the ball low and deep."
The world no.3 said he'll try to learn from Thursday's loss ahead of rematches in coming years and acknowledged his serve wasn't precise enough against Brooksby, who loves to attack when returning.
"He's gonna make it tough for you if you don't serve well," admitted Ruud. Brooksby's third round opponent, Tommy Paul, should take heed.