“I’m not full of confidence. A match like today might be able to change it,” – Casper Ruud said after his recent victory over Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP Finals. Ruud has struggled a bit on the hardcourts this season, especially in recent indoor events in the lead-up to the ATP Finals. However, his performance against Alcaraz literally stunned the tennis world! Can he come up with a similar performance against the German superstar, Alexander Zverev in the next match?

Alexander Zverev vs Casper Ruud: Preview

Looking at Zverev’s form this season, this is surely going to be a mammoth task for the Norwegian! Alexander Zverev has won two titles this season (Italian Open and Paris Masters), but he has made quite a few long runs in his previous tournaments. In fact, he has been one of the most consistent performers in 2024. Zverev defeated Andrey Rublev in the first group stage match by 6-4,6-4. Can Ruud stop the in-form German from clinching yet another victory in Turin?

Casper Ruud has also won two titles this season. His first title triumph came at the Barcelona Open where he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas by 7-5,6-3 in the final. Then the next one came at the Geneva Open. However, apart from that, he has also reached the finals of multiple tournaments this season. This shows us that, this 25-year-old Norwegian is more than capable of causing a few upsets in this tournament. He has already stunned Alcaraz. It will be interesting to see if Zverev becomes his next prey or not!

Zverev vs Ruud: Head-to-Head

Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud have faced each other five times in their careers. Zverev currently leads the H2H with one match. Here are the results:

• 2024 French Open SF: Zverev 2-6,6-2,6-4,6-2.
• 2023 French Open SF: Ruud 6-3,6-4,6-0.
• 2022 ATP Masters 1000 Miami QF: Ruud 6-3,1-6,6-3.
• 2021 ATP Masters 1000 Paris QF: Zverev 7-5,6-4.
• 2021 ATP Masters Cincinnati QF: Zverev 6-1,6-3.
• 2021 Acapulco QF: Zverev W/O.

Prediction: Zverev to win in straight sets

Despite Ruud’s emphatic victory over Carlos Alcaraz, we’re still keeping Alexander Zverev ahead of Ruud in this epic battle! Reasons? Well, Zverev’s overall form in this season and his consistency have been parallel to none in the Tour, this season. Zverev (2) has a win-loss record of 64-19, whereas Ruud (7) has a win-loss record of just 48-23 this season. Apart from that, Zverev also has a stronger indoor record and his playing style is more suited to this surface than Ruud. In fact, Alexander Zverev has won this tournament twice (2018,2021) in his career. So, these are some of the factors that give the German an edge in this epic contest.

Talking about their playing styles, Alexander Zverev is an aggressive baseliner. He loves standing far behind the baseline and from there, he is often seen aiming to hit powerful groundstrokes either for winners or to wear down his opponents. Zverev also has a big serve in his armory. Talking about his serves, do you know he has hit 758 aces this season? Not only that, even in the last match we saw him 9 aces against Rublev but didn’t commit even a single double fault in the entire match. He can also generate a lot of power with his backhand and forehand shots. In fact, his backhand is regarded as one of the best in men’s Tour.

However, his biggest weak points are his volleys and overhead techniques! Now shifting our focus to his opponent, Casper Ruud is also an offensive baseliner. His biggest strength is his groundstroke, especially his forehand which he often tends to hit with a heavy topspin. Apart from that, he also has a strong serve. Even Ruud didn’t commit a single double in his previous match, instead, he hit 5 aces against Alcaraz. He often uses his serves to earn more free points, using a one-two punch. However, his biggest weakness is his backhand. Looking at Zverev’s form this season, we’re expecting him to capitalize fully on Ruud’s weaknesses right from the start of this match. And if he really does so, there is a chance of him wrapping up this contest pretty quickly.