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Match details
Fixture: (2) Holger Rune vs (6) Casper Ruud
Date: March 1, 2024
Tournament: Mexican Open 2024
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Arena GNP Seguros, Acapulco, Mexico
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $2,206,080
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Holger Rune vs Casper Ruud preview
Second seed Holger Rune will face off against three-time Major finalist Casper Ruud in the semifinals of the 2024 Mexican Open on Friday (March 1).
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Rune knocked out Americans Michael Mmoh and Aleksandar Kovacevic in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals, where Dominik Koepfer awaited him. The young Dane led by a break twice in the first set and even held a set point on his own serve at 5-3, but couldn't close out the set.
Rune still got the job done in the ensuing tie-break. The second set was more of the same as he squandered a break advantage to let his opponent back into the match. The 20-year-old played a fantastic tie-break after that to wrap up a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (0) win.
Ruud, meanwhile, moved past Christopher Eubanks and Dusan Lajovic to book his place in the last eight, where he took on Ben Shelton. Both players remained unshakeable on serve which pushed the first set into a tie-break.
Ruud led 4-1 in it and even held a couple of set points, but Shelton fought back to snatch the set away from him. But the Norwegian wasn't to be denied as a single break of serve each of the next two sets helped him conclude a 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4 win.
Holger Rune vs Casper Ruud head-to-head
Ruud leads Rune 5-1 in the head-to-head. The Norwegian won their most recent encounter at the 2023 French Open in four sets.
Holger Rune vs Casper Ruud odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Holger Rune vs Casper Ruud prediction
Even though Ruud lost a closely contested first set, he never really looked in trouble against Shelton. The comeback seemed inevitable considering the level he displayed. He played with a little more aggression than usual and committed just nine unforced errors throughout the match.
Rune was a little nervy at times against Koepfer but regrouped quickly to regain control of the match. Ruud's a familiar rival for him as they have faced off six times prior to this.
This isn't the most ideal match-up for Rune given he's been on the losing end of this rivalry time after time. However, this will be their first match on hardcourts which could give him a glimmer of hope.
All of their previous matches were on clay, which is Ruud's best surface. However, he isn't a complete slouch on hardcourts either and given how he played against Shelton, he'll be expected to score yet another win over Rune.
Pick: Casper Ruud to win in three sets.
