Jason Collins
Dailysports's expert
Alexander Zverev
Casper Ruud
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In the second round of the group stage at the ATP Finals in Turin, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud will face off. Here’s my prediction for this encounter. Will it be a straightforward match for the German?
Alexander Zverev
The German player recently climbed to the world No. 2 ranking, a significant achievement. This year, he claimed titles in Rome and Paris and also had several strong performances, including a Grand Slam final. Zverev has been competing at the top level for a long time, and he’s no stranger to the ATP Finals, having won the tournament twice. He started his Turin campaign with a confident win over Andrey Rublev, 6-4, 6-4, marking his sixth consecutive victory.
Casper Ruud
The Norwegian player also won two titles this season, in Geneva and Barcelona, both on clay. Additionally, Ruud reached the semifinals at the only clay-court major, Roland Garros. Currently ranked seventh in the world, the 25-year-old began his ATP Finals run with a surprising victory over Carlos Alcaraz, 6-1, 7-5. In the second set, he came back from 3-5 down to avoid a deciding set, boosting his chances of reaching the semifinals—especially impressive given his four-match losing streak before the tournament.
Match Facts
- Zverev has won 38 of his 50 hard-court matches this season.
- Ruud has won 23 of his 37 hard-court encounters this season.
- Odds, Zverev: 1.17, Ruud: 5.3
Head-to-Head
Zverev leads 4-2 in their head-to-head matchups, although one of these matches was a walkover as Ruud did not take the court.
Prediction
While Zverev enters as a strong favorite, bookmakers anticipate a competitive match. Both players had promising starts to the tournament, so this could be a close contest. I’m taking a bit of a risk here and backing Ruud to put up a solid fight, with a bet on him to cover a +4.5 game spread.
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