French Open 2024: Taylor Fritz vs Casper Ruud; Preview, Head-to-Head, and Prediction

Taylor Fritz remains the last man standing for America in the second week of the French Open. Ever since bearing the nickname ‘Claylor’, he has been hunting for a memorable run at Stade Roland Garros. After passing the tricky Thanasi Kokkinakis test, he bumps into a two-time finalist in Casper Ruud.

Ruud has been on a mission right from the start of the 2024 season. After a disappointing end to 2023, he worked on his fitness, shredded some pounds, and took everyone by storm. Currently, ranked 4th in the race to Turin with two titles to his name, he aims to go one better than 2023, in Paris.

Taylor Fritz vs Casper Ruud: French Open Round 4 Preview

Casper Ruud has some unfinished business at Roland Garros. He has widely proven his critics wrong with his Barcelona title along with wins over Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, the ultimate goal remains La Coupe des Mousquetaires. Falling prey to Djokovic and Nadal’s inevitability in previous years, he has a clean shot at glory this year, but he must pass the Taylor Fritz challenge first.

Fritz, on the other hand, had to toil hard for the 4th round appearance. His wins against Lajovic, Coria, and Kokkinakis were far from easy. However, the American thrives on momentum, and the three gritty victories will do his confidence a world of good. Finishing his Round 3 clash earlier than Casper also indicates that he might be fresher between the two.

Taylor Fritz vs Casper Ruud: Head-to-Head

Fritz and Ruud’s only meeting came at the 2022 ATP World Tour Finals. The Norwegian clinched the tie in a nail-biting final set tiebreaker.

• ATP Finals 2022 RR (H): Ruud won 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6)

A solitary indoor hard-court match is not a conclusive sample size to study the matchup, especially when the players were separated by barely two points.

Prediction:

Ruud and Fritz are far from identical players. While Casper relies on long point constructions with his heavy topspin groundstrokes, Fritz prefers hitting the ball harder and flatter in an attempt to finish off points quickly. In the slow and heavy night conditions of Suzanne Lenglen court, the Norwegian is going to be a tough nut to crack.

Both Ruud and Fritz possess a reliable serve. The latter has already recorded 36 aces in his three matches at the French Open this year. Ruud’s tally at the same time falls just shy of 20. However, he prefers winning short points of the third short, rather than unreturned serves.

The World No.7 does tend to struggle against big hitters. It took him five sets to take down a redlining Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Round 2. Fritz, meanwhile, struggles to sustain a high level throughout 4 or 5 sets at majors. Despite the strong command of his serve and groundstrokes, Fritz’s biggest concern will be his movement and defense against a determined Casper Ruud.

Final Verdict: Casper Ruud to win in 4 sets. The match will include a tiebreaker and comprise over 35 games. Fritz’s ace count will surely reach double digits and completely outdo Casper’s tally.