Casper Ruud (Twitter)
World No. 4 Casper Ruud will square off against world No. 76 Richard Gasquet in the round of 32 of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old has had a stellar season overall but his recent returns have been a bit of a concern. After winning the Argentina Open and the Geneva Open, Ruud finished runner-up at the French Open and the US Open. He also defended his Swiss Open title after defeating Matteo Berrettini in the final.
Ruud has lost his first-round matches in consecutive tournaments before coming to Paris. He went down in straight sets against Jaume Munar in the round of 32 of the Japan Open. In Basel, he lost to 3-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka. Last year at the Paris Masters, Ruud was ousted in the quarterfinals by Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
The home favorite has not had the best of years but he will take confidence from the fact that he reached the semifinals in the recently concluded European Open. He lost to the red-hot Felix Auger-Aliassime in two competitive sets. Gasquet reached another semifinal on the tour this year at the Geneva Open.
In the round of 64, Gasquet blew away Alex Molcan in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. Last year at the Paris Master, the French veteran failed to progress beyond the first round as he lost to Grigor Dimitrov in three sets.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 1-0 in favor of Gasquet. He defeated Ruud in the 2018 Swedish Open in straight sets.
Prediction: Casper Ruud to win in three sets.
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