Casper Ruud scored a big upset in the Monte-Carlo Masters semifinals, as he took out World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

The Norwegian became the first man from his country to beat a reigning World No. 1 and moved into his second final of the season in the process.

Reacting to his win during the post-match press conference, Ruud said he knew going into the match that Djokovic, despite his many records and laurels, was still human and hence beatable.

“Obviously Novak is Novak. He’s human. Sometimes he doesn’t seem like it, but he is like everyone else,” Casper Ruud said

Ruud said he was extra motivated to play the Serb after having seen Italian youngster Luca Nardi beat him at Indian Wells. He added that he was lucky to channel those thoughts into his game and get the win.

“I think what really motivated me and helped me a bit today was maybe that I thought about, you know, he lost a match in Indian Wells to Luca Nardi, and he showed there that he’s also vulnerable sometimes,” the Norwegian said. “Not many times in a year, but a few days here and there he’s possible to beat.”

“Luckily for me I was able to think about those thoughts in the end of the third set and take advantage of it,” he added.

“Believing more in myself that I could beat Novak Djokovic now” – Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud said having a certain self-belief was required when one plays big names like Novak Djokovic. His belief in this match, the Norwegian said, stemmed from the fact that the Serb was not having the best of seasons and looked slightly vulnerable.

“Believing more in myself that I could beat [Novak Djokovic] now than before, because he didn’t have that perfect record so far this year,” Casper Ruud said. “And that kind of is how tennis works. Fine balance.”

He said watching other players beat the World No. 1 made him believe that he could do it as well.

“If you see that someone has done really well in the beginning of the year, it’s tough to play them, because you’re expecting, wow, this guy is almost impossible to beat,” the Norwegian said.

“But if you see that many or other players have beaten him before, you believe a bit more in yourself also,” he added.

Ruud will take on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of Monte-Carlo Masters. The Greek reached his third final at the Masters 1000 event by beating Australian Open champ Jannik Sinner 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the other semifinal.

Ruud and Tsitsipas will face one another for the fourth time.