Casper Ruud will look to extend his head-to-head record against Holger Rune to 5-1 on Wednesday, with the match receiving the night session treatment. Rune won their last match in Rome though with his three set win being far less dramatic than their quarter final meeting here last year, which saw a fiery post match exchange.
Rune’s opening week had been fairly uneventful until the fourth round clash with Francisco Cerundolo, which he eventually took in a fifth set tiebreak 7-6 3-6 6-4 1-6 7-6. It was full of drama with a bad double bounce call in the third set while the Norwegian also failed to serve the match out at 5-4 in the fifth. He steadied himself enough to take the match tiebreak 10-7 but there is plenty to be concerned about going into his match with Ruud. “Moments like this stay with you forever, no matter if you win or lose, you just go and enjoy and try to play your best, so I enjoyed every moment.” he said after.
Ruud was very impressive in taking down an in-form Nicolas Jarry in straight sets. The Chilean possesses a nasty serve and forehand combo and used to full effect for most of the match. However, it was Ruud who delivered on the key points of the 7-6 7-5 7-5 win. He saved 14 of 17 breakpoints and remained solid at other pressure moments, using his superior defensive skills effectively. “It was great for me. Three very, very tough sets,” said Ruud afterwards. “I think today I can thank my team for pushing me every day in practice because not every day is as tough as [this one]. But I do the work and I felt physically fine.
While Rune managed to get through his match with Cerundolo, the questions will remain over his ability to go long in back-to-back matches. He is still struggling with the physicality and will be facing an opponent better placed to punish his mistakes, which should be more common with Ruud likely to put him on the back foot more in this matchup. The Rune serve also faltered under pressure with ten double faults in that match and it would not be surprising to see a similar level as the match wears on he gets more tired.
Prediction – Casper Ruud in four sets
