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Ruud lost 7-5 6-3 to Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals title
match after the Serbian harnessed his mighty forehand to break
Ruud in the fourth game of the second set.
The 23-year-old Norwegian has had a great year - reaching his
first Masters 1000 final at the Miami Open before making it to
the French Open and U.S. Open finals.
"Overall, if you gave me the offer to end the year at No. 3,
play the finals that I've played, on 1st January this year, I
would probably sign the contract right away. No doubt about it,"
Ruud said at a news conference.
"I feel like, of course, I've been playing great tennis this
year, but I still feel like I haven't maybe peaked or played
hopefully my best tennis of my life so far."
Ruud is aiming to start the new year on a high as more eyes will
be on him after a successful 2022.
"I look forward to going to Australia and starting a new season.
I look forward to playing best-of-five sets again. I think for
the Australian Open I can say I'm already hungry to have a good
result and let's see how next year plays out," he said.
"I mean, I don't play tennis because I want the media to write
good (things) about me or write that I won or whatever. I play
because I love competing. I love to try to win. That's what I
have to focus on."
The Australia Open starts on Jan. 16 in Melbourne.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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