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Casper Ruud vs Francisco Cerundolo: ATP Rome Preview

Casper Ruud vs Francisco Cerundolo

Time: 10:30 PM IST

Head-to-head: 1-2 

The upcoming match featuring Casper Ruud and Francisco Cerundolo presents an opportunity for a rematch following their clash in the round-of-16 at ATP Barcelona last month. In their previous encounter, Ruud initially took a commanding 5-2 lead in the first set. However, Cerundolo displayed remarkable resilience and managed to turn the tide in his favor, ultimately securing a straight-set victory. This outcome further compounded Ruud’s challenging 2023 season, shedding light on the ongoing struggles he has faced on the court.

Ruud’s fortunes took a favorable turn at the Rome Masters, as he received a favorable draw and capitalized on the opportunity by advancing to the quarterfinals. This achievement holds particular significance considering his lackluster performance throughout the 2023 season. He triumphed over two opponents ranked outside the top 50, Arthur Rinderknech and Laslo Djere, and emerged victorious in a hard-fought three-set match against the world #49 Alexander Bublik.

Lady Luck continued to shine on Ruud in Rome, as he managed to avoid facing the highly regarded and in-form Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals. This presents a significant opportunity for Ruud to achieve the breakthrough result he has been eagerly pursuing over the past five months.

Throughout the year, the Norwegian player, who finished as the runner-up in the 2022 US Open, has encountered several disappointments, except for his somewhat unconvincing title-winning campaign in Estoril. Notably, his recent quarterfinal appearance in Rome represents only the second instance in 2023 where he has secured back-to-back victories and, more importantly, the first time he has accomplished this feat in tournaments above the ATP 250 level.

Ruud has consistently delivered strong performances at the Rome Masters in recent years, reaching the semifinals in his last two appearances in 2020 and 2022. During these successful runs, he claimed hard-fought quarterfinal victories against Matteo Berrettini and Denis Shapovalov in three sets and two closely contested sets, respectively.

Francisco Cerundolo has showcased his ability to pose a formidable threat even at the highest level of tennis, particularly when his forehand is firing on all cylinders. This was evident in his recent round-of-16 match against the crowd-favorite Jannik Sinner, where Cerundolo’s forehand dominated during the last two sets, resulting in a 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory. Notably, he has rallied back from a set down in all three of his matches thus far in the Rome Masters campaign.

The young Argentine, who had limited exposure to the main tour before 2022, has made significant progress across all surfaces over the past 16 months and climbed as high as #24 in the ATP rankings. Impressively, he boasts a win-loss record of 5-6 against top-10 players, which improves even further on clay, where he holds a record of 4-1. His only clay defeat occurred in Buenos Aires in 2021 against compatriot Diego Schwartzman, during a period when he primarily competed in lower-level tournaments.

This quarter final appearance at the Masters level will mark Cerundolo’s third, and notably, his first on clay. In the 2022 Miami Masters, he advanced to the semifinals when Jannik Sinner retired while trailing 1-4, granting Cerundolo the victory. However, in the recent edition of the same tournament a couple of months ago, he suffered defeat at the hands of Karen Khachanov.

Prediction:Back Cerundolo to win a set

By admin

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