Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2021: Casper Ruud vs Denis Shapovalov preview, head to head & prediction

Fixture: (3) Casper Ruud vs (4) Denis Shapovalov

Date: 16 December 2021

Tournament: Mubadala World Tennis Championship

Round: First round (Quarterfinals)

Venue: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Category: Exhibition Tournament

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $250,000

Match timing: Not before 4 pm local time, 12 pm GMT, 5.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport

Casper Ruud vs Denis Shapovalov preview

Casper Ruud at the 2021 Nitto ATP World Tour Finals - Day Seven

Casper Ruud will take on Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Thursday. The winner of the contest will face Andrey Rublev in the semifinals the following day.

Casper Ruud is coming off a season in which he won five ATP titles. He lifted the trophy at Kitzbuhel, Bastad and Gstaad, making him the first player to win three titles in three consecutive weeks since Andy Murray in 2011.

The 22-year-old then clinched his first hardcourt title in San Diego, where he emerged victorious against an in-form Cameron Norrie in the final.

Denis Shapovalov at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open - Day 8

Meanwhile, Denis Shapovalov endured a mediocre 2021 season, failing to win a title for the second consecutive year. The Canadian reached the final in Stockholm but was beaten by Tommy Paul. He also fell short in the title clash in Geneva, losing to Casper Ruud in straight sets.

However, the 22-year-old did reach his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon, defeating home favorite Andy Murray en route.

Shapovalov will be looking to bounce back strongly in 2022 and the ideal way to do that would be to make a deep run in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Australian Open.

Casper Ruud vs Denis Shapovalov head-to-head

Casper Ruud and Denis Shapovalov have faced each other only once before, in the Geneva Open final. Ruud registered a dominant victory over the Canadian on that occasion and thus leads their head-to-head 1-0.

Casper Ruud vs Denis Shapovalov prediction

Nitto ATP World Tour Finals - Day Six

Casper Ruud is the slight favorite in this contest due to his recent form. Ruud ended his season strongly with a semifinal appearance at the 2021 ATP Finals and the Norwegian will be hoping to carry that momentum into the exhibition match against Denis Shapovalov.

Shapovalov, on the other hand, has been on a downward slide since Wimbledon. The Canadian's ranking has plummeted and he will be desperate to find some form ahead of the Australian Open.

Shapovalov possesses a great lefty serve, but he tends to leak errors from the back of the court under pressure. Ruud has become a lot more steady from the baseline in recent months and he should have no trouble engaging in long rallies with the erratic Canadian.

As long as Ruud plays at a decent level, he should be able to see off the challenge from Shapovalov and advance to the semifinals.

Prediction: Casper Ruud to win in straight sets.

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