Match Details
Fixture: (8) Casper Ruud vs Emil Ruusuvuori.
Tournament: French Open 2022.
Date: 26 May 2022.
Round: Second round (Round of 64).
Venue: Paris, France.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €21,256,800.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports and Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten.
Casper Ruud vs Emil Ruusuvuori preview
Eighth seed Casper Ruud will take on World No. 61 Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round of the French Open on Thursday.
Ruud had a tough outing in the first round against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who had earlier announced that the French Open would be his final tournament. The veteran played quite well to claim the opening set, giving hope to fans that his retirement will have to wait at least one more round.
The second set was also stretched to a tie-break, but Ruud came out on top to win it. The Norwegian stamped his authority in the third set by breaking the Frenchman's serve twice to nab it. The two were neck and neck in the fourth set, but Tsonga got the decisive break to go 6-5 up.
However, tragedy struck immediately. Tsonga started to have trouble with his shoulder after that game. He had a medical timeout and was visited by the trainer, but to no avail. Fans cheered loudly for their local hero as he stepped on to the court for what would be the final moments of his career.
Ruud immediately broke back to take the set to a tie-break, which was completely one-sided. The World No. 8 won 6-7(6), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (0), but it was Tsonga who received a long standing ovation on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Emil Ruusuvuori also took on another home favorite, Ugo Humbert, in the first round and the match had plenty of drama as well. The Finn took the opening set after going down an early break.
That didn't deter Humbert as he stepped up his game to clinch the next two sets. However, Ruusuvuori wasn't done yet and raced to a 5-1 lead in the fourth set. With the Frenchman serving to stay in the set, he saved four set points for a gutsy hold.
Humbert then broke his opponent's serve and saved another couple of set points to hold for 5-4. The pressure was on Ruusuvuori as he served for the set a second time and finally won it on his 10th set point.
The deciding set was less dramatic as Ruusuvuori went up a double break to seal the match 6-2, 2-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2 for his first win at the French Open.
Casper Ruud vs Emil Ruusuvori head-to-head
Ruud leads Ruusuvuori 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent encounter at the 2022 Barcelona Open in straight sets.
Casper Ruud vs Emil Ruusuvuori odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Casper Ruud vs Emil Ruusuvuori prediction
Despite Tsonga troubling him in the first round, Ruud played a great match. He struck 41 winners compared to 25 unforced errors. His forehand worked quite well and he will aim to dictate the game against the Finn too.
Ruusuvuori went 7/22 on break points in his first-round match. Failing to make the most of his chances against a player like Ruud will prove to be costly. He likes to play from the baseline, but will need to mix it up against the Norwegian as simply trading blows from the back of the court won't do him any favors.
Ruud has won seven titles on clay so far. Despite his excellent resume on the red dirt, he has underperformed at the French Open, failing to progress beyond the third round. Still, the Norwegian is a way better clay courter compared to Ruusuvuori and will have the edge in this contest.
Pick: Casper Ruud to win in straight sets.
Also Check Out :- French Open 2022 Results