Casper Ruud

Wimbledon Day Four Picks – Does Stefanos Tsitsipas Have Enough In The Tank Against Andy Murray?

July 5, 2023 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

Casper Ruud vs. Liam Broady

When a British fast-court player who is not afraid to play on grass is drawn against a European clay-courter who went deep at the French Open and skipped the entire grass court season leading into Wimbledon, you would more likely to pick the Brit in this scenario right? However, in this second round Centre Court match at Wimbledon between Liam Broady and Casper Ruud, we are going to go with the two-time French Open runner-up. This is not your grandfather’s grass courts and it is not as much of advantage for the fast court players against the clay courters. Remember, Ruud also got to the U.S. Open final last year on faster courts.

Andy Murray vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas doesn’t have a lot of time to recover mentally and physically from his fifth-set tiebreaker win late Wednesday over Dominic Thiem. To boot, beating an in-form, fit and highly motivated Andy Murray on Centre Court at Wimbledon is about as tough an ask as you can have. Murray wins this in four sets, but look for Tstisipas and girlfriend Paula Badosa to have some fun in mixed doubles and hopefully make a run.

Donna Vekic vs. Sloane Stephens

Sloane Stephens has the better resume in her match with Donna Vekic with a U.S. Open title and a French Open runner-up but Vekic is higher-ranked and a better UTR (12.64 to 12.43). Vekic has a runner-up showing in Berlin on grass under her belt and we think she will prevail here in three sets as she seems to be trending upward of late and benefitting from the wisdom given to her by her coach Pam Shriver, who has won a lot of grass court matches in her career. Vekic could make a nice run here this year.

With Tom Brady Watching On, Novak Djokovic Wins Record 23rd Major Title At Roland Garros

June 11, 2023 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

BY JAMES BECK

If there was any doubt that Novak Djokovic would win his record 23^rd Grand Slam title on Sunday, it disappeared after five games.

That’s when Djokovic became the true Novak, and Young Casper Ruud could start looking for another Grand Slam in which to claim his fame. So much for Ruud’s chances to stop his streak of losses in Grand Slam finals at two.

Novak won five of the next seven games and then lost only one point in the tiebreaker. The Serbian great was on his way to a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 victory in the French Open’s men’s singles championship match.

EVEN TOM BRADY JOINED THE FUN

Rudd appeared to spend much of the second set in dismay, showing little intensity and effort, and at times apparently deciding not to waste his energy chasing some of Novak’s sizzling forehands and backhands to the corners.

Everyone appeared to be happy to get this one over with and start the victory celebration.

Even NFL legend quarterback Tom Brady, sitting in the Djokovic player guest box, was happy to get a victory hug from Djokovic.

And, of course, Novak’s young son and daughter were proud of their dad’s achievements.

And they should be. Novak is and was great.

Yes, it was a great day for tennis.

NOVAK WAS SIMPLY AWESOME

Even Ruud smiled when Novak told the crowd and super-nice Casper in the victory celebration that the Norwegian could win any Grand Slam final that Novak wasn’t in.

Of course, Ruud had reason for losing all three sets.

Novak was awesome, probably never better. The 36-year-old played as well as he did a decade earlier.

Djokovic might even have beaten Rafa Nadal in this one if Rafa hadn’t been sitting out with a hip injury. Maybe next year when Rafa is well, the two will have the chance for one last showdown on the red clay of Roland Garros.

As far as Djokovic’s greatness, there is no doubt he is one of the greatest players ever. He just further cemented his place in the greatest ever club with Roger Federer, Nadal and Rod Laver.

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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.

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Roland Garros Final-Round Picks – Will Iga Swiatek or Novak Djokovic Be Shock Upset Losers?

June 9, 2023 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

Iga Swiatek vs. Karolina Muchova

Karolina Muchova has had a breakthrough Grand Slam tournament by reaching her first major final. She was down 2-5, 0-30 in the third set against No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals before coming back to win. Muchova will probably have a bit of a feeling of satisfaction just getting to a major final and will probably have some nerves in the final too. This is old hat to Iga Swiatek, who will be gunning for her third French title and fourth overall major. She hasn’t lost a set en route to the final and won’t lose one in the final either. You may see Muchova swing for the fences with nothing to lose at some point and will keep it close but Swiatek is your 2023 Roland Garros women’s singles champions.

Novak Djokovic vs. Casper Ruud

This will be history as Novak Djokovic will win his record-breaking 23^rd major title. As Mary Carillo said on NBC Sports, he’s got a great chance to also win the Grand Slam by also sweeping Wimbledon (where he is a huge favorite) and also the U.S. Open. Ruud might make it interesting by grabbing a set but Novak reigns supreme in Paris this year.

Roland Garros Day 13 Picks – Who Will Win Between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz?

June 8, 2023 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic

Sergi Bruguera, the two-time French Open champion, called the much anticipated Roland Garros semifinal between Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic as the “match of the year.”

https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/article/rg2023-bruguera-alcaraz-djokovic-semi-most-exciting-match-of-the-year

This could be a generational battle talked about for years, not unlike the Roger Federer vs. Pete Sampras clash at Wimbledon in 2001. Alcaraz is 20 and Djokovic is 36, which is about as big as an age difference as you can have in pro tennis these days. Alcaraz won their only previous meeting in Madrid on clay in altitude, but beating Djokovic in a best-of-five set match at a Grand Slam tournament is about as difficult a task as there is in sports. You could flip a coin on this one, but we are leaning towards the youth of Alcaraz and the fact that Djokovic has seemed to struggle more getting to this round than Alcaraz. May the better man on this day win!

Alexander Zverev vs. Casper Ruud

Alexander Zverev has exercised a lot of ghosts this year at Roland Garros from his previous appearance at the French Championships where he severely injured his ankle while in a titanic battle with Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in 2022. Zverev, we hope, will not get injured again this year and will have greater fortune with an upset over Casper Ruud, the defending French runner-up. Zverev has a slightly higher UTR (15.97 to 15.92) and he seems to be trending upward and eager make amends for unfinished business from 2022.

Roland Garros Day 11 Picks – Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune Is The Man

June 6, 2023 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

Ons Jabeur vs. Bea Haddad-Maia

Ons Jabeur declared herself 100 percent fit for Roland Garros at the start of the event, after months dealing with injury woes. Perhaps she came into the French Championships with little expectations, but she will reach the semifinals in Paris for the first time with a win over Haddad-Maia who won’t have much fight after her nearly four hour round of 16 win.

Iga Swiatek vs. Coco Gauff

This quarterfinal is a rematch of the 2022 French final that was won by Swiatek 6-1, 6-3. Swiatek has cruised into the semifinals losing only nine games, while Gauff has been off at times. Swiatek will face added resistance against Gauff but ultimately will prevail.

Alexander Zverev vs. Tomas Etcheverry

Etcheverry, playing in his first major quarterfinal, is going to, deep down, be happy with his result, while Zverev feels he has more track to run on in Paris and will win in straight sets.

Holger Rune vs. Casper Ruud

If you go to the Universal Tennis (MyUTR.com) website, you will see that Casper Ruud has a 15.92 rating. You will also find out that Holger Rune is listed by his full name Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune and his UTR is 16.09. The man with four names will prevail.

Roland Garros Day Nine Picks – Grigor Dimitrov Channels His Inner Lacoste

June 4, 2023 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

Alexander Zverev vs. Grigor Dimitrov

Grigor Dimitrov has flown under the radar this week. The only attention he has received basically is because he is outfitted in Lacoste starting this week. In the fourth round he faces Alexander Zverev, who registered a tough and satisfying win over No. 12 Frances Tiafoe. While Zverev is seeded No. 22 and Dimitrov is seeded No. 28, it is Dimitrov who has the slightly better UTR – a 15.89 against a 15.82 for Zverev. Based on that bit of info and that Dimitrov may be channeling some French magic from Rene Lacoste, the man for whom much in French tennis originated from, we will give the nod to the Bulgarian.

Tomas Etcheverry vs. Yosihito Nishioka

Nishioka is seeded No. 27 and Etcheverry is ranked No. 49. However, we are going to go with the Argentine here since clay is his natural, preferred and best surface and it’s not for Nishioka. And Etcheverry has a 15.81 UTR and Nishioka is considerably less for a fourth round match at a Grand Slam tennis tournament with a 15.59.

Holger Rune/Casper Ruud Double

The two Scandinavians – Holger Rune from Denmark and Casper Ruud from Norway – are destined to play in the quarterfinals so look them both to advance in their fourth round matches – Rune vs. Francisco Cerundolo and Ruud over Nicolas Jarry, but not without both being at least four sets.

Day Seven Roland Garros Picks – Casper Ruud Coming Into Form

June 3, 2023 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

Alexander Zverev vs. Frances Tiafoe

Frances Tiafoe is the higher seed here at No. 12 against Alexander Zverev at No. 22, but Zverev has the better current UTR at 15.81 against 15.76 for Tiafoe. Zverev is certainly the better clay court player with the better clay court resume and getting back into form after his devastating injury in the semifinals of Roland Garros last year. We give the edge to Zverev here to get through.

Zie Zhang vs. Casper Ruud

Zie Zhang has received a lot of buzz of late and making history for Chinese men’s tennis. Ruud, by contrast, has struggled of late after his stellar 2022 season where he was runner-up at the French and U.S. Opens and was on the cusp of world No. 1. There’s an astonishing gap in the UTRs of these two players with Zie Zhang at a 14.69 and Casper Ruud is a 15.95. That’s over one point, which is huge at this level. With that, we are going with Ruud to be the easy winner here.

Lesia Tsurenko vs. Bianca Andreescu

Sticking with our UTR picking style, Tsurenko has a UTR of 12.64 and the much more accomplished and recognizable Bianca Andreescu, the former U.S. Open champion, has a slightly lower UTR of 12.61. Clay is not the best surface for Andreescu, who is just getting into match shape again after her ankle injury at the Miami Open. Tsurenko is not just playing for herself, but her country Ukraine, so we will go with Tsurenko to win here.

Novak Djokovic Continues To Make Tennis History With ATP Finals Win In Turin

November 21, 2022 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

Novak Djokovic is continuing to re-write the tennis history books.

The Serbian sensation won a record-equaling sixth ATP Finals title in Turin, Italy by beating Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-3 to equal Roger Federer’s record of six titles at the year-end championships.

To boot, Djokovic, at age 35, became the oldest ever winner of the event and pocketed the largest pay day in the history of tennis – $4,740,300, which is $300,000 more than Ash Barty’s payday for winning the WTA Tour finals three years ago.

Djokovic, who had lost his two previous finals at the event, won the tournament for the first time in seven years.

“Seven years has been a long time,” Djokovic said. “At the same time, the fact that I waited seven years makes this victory even sweeter and even bigger. A lot of nerves … I missed a couple of forehands in the last game when I was serving for it. I had nerves, but I am really grateful to be able to serve the match out. I had a big ace to close out.”

It was Ruud’s fourth defeat in a big championship match this year after also losing finals at Miami, Roland Garros and the US Open. Ruud has never won a set against Djokovic in four meetings.

“In the end it’s been disappointing to end up losing these big finals,” Ruud said. “Overall, if you gave me an offer to end the year at No. 3, play the finals that I’ve played, at the 1st of January this year I would probably sign the contract right away. No doubt about it.

“It gives me motivation and a hunger to maybe next time — if I ever get to another final like this — I hope I can learn from what I have done this year and not been able to do and see how it goes.”

Djokovic has ended the year with an 18-1 record after winning trophies in Tel Aviv and Astana before reaching the Paris Masters final. His five titles this season also include wins at Wimbledon and in Rome.

Tennis Hall of Famer Steve Flink rated the ’12 Australian Open final between Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as No. 7 match ever in his book “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time” available for sale here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Greatest-Tennis-Matches-Time/dp/0942257936/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358104976&sr=8-2&keywords=Steve+Flink

Carlos Alcaraz Persists To Win 2022 U.S. Open

September 12, 2022 by Randy Walker Leave a Comment

Carlos Alcaraz won his first major singles title beating Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the final of the U.S. Open, becoming the event’s second youngest men’s singles champion and in the process becoming the youngest man to clinch the world No. 1 ranking.

Alcaraz, at age 19 years, 4 months and 6 days, is only three months older than Pete Sampras, when he won the U.S. men’s title in 1990 at the age of 19 years, 28 days. However, Alcaraz is well over a year younger than Lleyton Hewitt as the youngest world No. 1, Hewitt assuming the top ranking in 2001 at the age of 20 years and 268 days.

The young Spaniard persisted at the end of the tournament in what four-time U.S. Open champion John McEnroe called “one of the all-time great efforts you will ever see to win an event.” He won three straight matches in five sets, including two that finished after 2 am, to reach the final, a feat last achieved by Stefan Edberg in 1992, who famously came back from a service break in the fifth set in the fourth round, quarterfinals and semifinals. Alcaraz trailed by a service break in the firth set against 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in the fourth round before winnign 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in three hours and 54 minutes in a match that ended at 2:23 am. He then saved a match point in his quarterfinal epic win against Jannik Sinner, which he won 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-7 (0), 7-5, 6-3 in five hours and 15 minutes, the second longest U.S. Open match of all time, that finished at 2:50 am, the latest finish in U.S. Open history. In the semifinals, he again persisted in his five-set 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (5), 6-3, fighting against a roaring U.S. crowd.

Alcaraz spent a total of 23 hours, 40 minutes on court in the tournament.

Rafael Nadal Is Now The Oldest Roland Garros Champ In Addition To Being Most Dominant

June 5, 2022 by Randy Walker Leave a Comment

Seventeen years to the day when he won his first Roland Garros title and his first major title, Rafael Nadal won his 14^th Roland Garros title and his 22^nd major title.

He defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in a tension-less final that increased Nadal’s career record at Roland Garros to an incredible 112-3.

With a win, Nadal, two days past his 36^th birthday, passes fellow Spaniard Andres Gimeno as the oldest Roland Garros men’s singles champion in history. Gimeno, at age 35 years and 10 months, set the record exactly 50 years and one day earlier in 1973 when he defeated Patrick Proisy of France in the 1972 final.

It was also on June 5, back in 2005, when Nadal won Roland Garros for the first time for his first major title, as documented in the “On This Day In Tennis History” book and excerpted here:

2005 – Nineteen-year-old Rafael Nadal of Spain fends off a charge from unseeded Mariano Puerta of Argentina to win his first major singles title at the French Open. Nadal wins the title and his 24th consecutive match with a 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1 7-5 decision over the No. 37-ranked Puerta to become the fourth youngest men’s singles champion at Roland Garros. Nadal joins 1982 champion Mats Wilander as the only player to win Roland Garros in his debut.

Nadal is now a perfect 14-0 with the Coupe des Mousquetaires on the line and has never lost two sets in a Roland Garros final, much less three. His 14 Roland Garros titles are the most won by any man at a single Grand Slam event in history, followed by Novak Djokovic’s nine at the Australian Open and Roger Federer’s eight at Wimbledon.

For the first time in his career, Nadal has swept the Australian Open and Roland Garros in the same year and equaled his lowest ranking as a Grand Slam champion. He was also No. 5 at 2005 Roland Garros and the 2022 Australian Open.