The world No. 2 Casper Ruud kicks off his Korea Open campaign against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry in the round of 16 on Thursday.
The Norwegian youngster won his first title of the season in February at the Argentina Open. At the Miami Open, he lost in the final against Carlos Alcaraz. He reached the quater-finals in consecutive tournaments in the Barcelona Open and the BMW Open. The 23-year-old continued his good form and reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open and won the finals of the Geneva Open.
In the 2022 French Open, Casper Ruud made it to his first final at a major event. He played some exhilarating tennis throughout the tournament en route to the final, where he was outplayed by the legendary Rafael Nadal. Ruud won another title at the Swiss Open and also made it to the semi-finals of the Canadian Open. He faced Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final and the young Spaniard once again got the better of him.
The 26-year-old has put in some decent performances in the Challenger events this year. He has reached the semi-finals in as many as five tournaments.
Jarry notched up comprehensive wins in his two qualifying matches against Tatsuma Ito and Aleksandar Kovacevic. In the round of 32, Jarry defeated Ryan Peniston in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (10-8). It’s going to be an uphill task for the world No. 111 as he meets a rampaging Ruud up next.
The head-to-head is tied as 0-0 as the two players have not faced each other as yet.
Prediction: Casper Ruud to win in straight sets.
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