ATP Finals 2024: Carlos Alcaraz vs Casper Ruud preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (3) Carlos Alcaraz vs (6) Casper Ruud
Date: November 11, 2024
Tournament: ATP Finals 2024
Round: Group Stage
Venue: Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy
Category: Year-end championships
Surface: Hard (Indoor)
Prize Money: $15,250,000
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Carlos Alcaraz vs Casper Ruud preview
Four-time Major champion Carlos Alcaraz will face Casper Ruud in the group stage of the ATP Finals 2024. The first few months of the new season were quite low-key for Alcaraz, with a quarterfinal at the Australian Open being the highlight.
He returned to form with a title defense at the Indian Wells Masters before bowing out of the Miami Open in the quarterfinals. An injury interfered with his campaign during the clay swing.
Alcaraz missed three of his four scheduled events while participating in the Madrid Open, where his title defense wrapped up in the quarterfinals. Despite contesting limited matches on clay, he went on to win the French Open, his third Major title. He later defended his Wimbledon crown as well.
The Spaniard swept aside the competition at the Paris Olympics but fell short against Novak Djokovic in the final, and settled for the silver medal. His return to hardcourts was disappointing, and he lost in the second round of the Cincinnati Open and the US Open.
Alcaraz turned things around with a title at the China Open and advanced to the last eight of the Shanghai Masters. He suffered another early exit from the Paris Masters and crashed out in the third round this time.
Ruud was one of the most in-form players during the first half of the season. He reached two finals during the hardcourt swing at the Los Cabos Open and the Mexican Open, losing both. He then advanced to the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters, and the fourth round of the Miami Open.
Ruud was the runner-up at the Monte-Carlo Masters and won the biggest title of his career at the Barcelona Open. He won the Geneva Open and reached the semifinals of the French Open as well. He has won 10 more matches since then, with a quarterfinal at the Olympics and a fourth-round showing at the US Open accounting for the bulk of those 10 wins.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Casper Ruud head-to-head
Alcaraz leads Ruud 4-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at last year's China Open in straight sets.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Casper Ruud odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Carlos Alcaraz vs Casper Ruud prediction
Ruud's form has gone up in smoke after a strong showing in the first half of the season. He is currently on a four-match losing streak and has lost eight of his last nine matches. While he does have a 4-2 record against the top 10 players this year, only one of those wins has been on hardcourts.
Ruud also has a 7-14 career record against players ranked in the top 10 on hardcourts. However, he has always performed quite well at the ATP Finals and made the semifinals on his debut in 2021, and was runner-up in 2022.
Aside from having won all four matches against Ruud, Alcaraz also has an 11-3 record against top 10 players this season. The Spaniard has never been under any pressure in this match-up and has won three of their four meetings in straight sets. Given his opponent's form, this is likely to be another routine victory for him.
Pick: Carlos Alcaraz to win in straight sets.