World No. 4 Casper Ruud squares off with world No. 9 Taylor Fritz in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old reached his second final at a major when he defeated Karen Khachanov in the US Open semifinal. He eventually lost to Carlos Alcaraz but his performances impressed fans as well as critics. However, the rub of the green has not gone his way in the following competitions. Alcaraz managed to reach the quarterfinals in the Korea Open but suffered exits in the round of 32 in the Japan Open and the Basel Open. At the Paris Masters, he was ousted in the round of 16 by Lorenzo Musetti.
Ruud faced the red-hot Felix Auger-Aliassime in his opening match in Turin. Both players held serve in the first set which Ruud edged 7-6 (7-4). In the second set, the first break of the match came in the seventh game as Ruud got the advantage. He managed to seize it and won the match 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
Fritz won the Japan Open in October. It was his third title of the year. After the Japan Open and before coming to Turin, the American youngster played a couple of tournaments without much success. In the Vienna Open, he failed to progress beyond the round of 16. At the Paris Masters, Fritz was ousted by Gilles Simon in the round of 32.
The 25-year-old faced Rafael Nadal in his opening encounter in Turin. Fritz already had a win against the Spaniard this year in the BNP Paribas Open final. Fritz once again got the better of the veteran in straight sets 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
The two players have never crossed paths as yet. Therefore, the head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0.
Prediction: Casper Ruud to win in three sets.
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