Ruud has reached two Grand Slam finals on clay in the last year and one on hard courts, also winning titles on both surfaces, but he hasn't been able to replicate that success on grass. 

The Norwegian has never made it past the second round at Wimbledon and hasn't come close to winning any other grass-court tournaments either. 

Given that, you'd expect him to try and get plenty of practice in before arguably tennis' biggest event this year, but he didn't do so, with his match against Popyrin at Hurlingham his only one on the green stuff. 

Speaking after the match, which Flashscore attended, he admitted he's not feeling good on the surface, stating that it doesn't suit his game well.

He is however enjoying the challenge of trying to adapt. 

"This was my first match on grass this year so I maybe had to take it a bit more seriously than others will," he said. "It's great to be back even though I don't feel very comfortable."

"I think it's fun to play on. You need to bring something different to your game, you need to come forward more, come to the net.

"That's something I typically don't do too often so it's a good way to challenge myself."

Speaking about his performance against Popyrin, which saw him win by claiming two tie-breaks, one to decide the second set and one to decide the match, he was pleased that he was able to raise his game at those points.

"I played two great tie-breaks," he said. 

"It took a while to warm up and feel comfortable but I was able to stay in it in the second set and I went for it in the tie-break."

Ruud takes on Laurent Lokoli (28) on Monday in Wimbledon's first round.