French Open 2023: Casper Ruud vs Elias Ymer preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Roland Garros
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Casper Ruud vs (Q) Elias Ymer
Tournament: French Open 2023
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor clay
Prize money: €49,600,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports, Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten
Casper Ruud vs Elias Ymer preview
World No. 4 Casper Ruud will take on qualifier Elias Ymer in the first round of the 2023 French Open.
After an underwhelming hardcourt season, Ruud was hopeful of reversing his fortunes on his favored surface, clay. He was off to a great start as he claimed his 10th career title at the Estoril Open. The Norwegian suffered a series of setbacks after that.
Ruud lost in the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open, while crashing out of the Madrid Open without winning a match. He bounced back at the Italian Open, where he lost to Holger Rune in the semifinals. The 24-year old was the two-time defending champion at the Geneva Open, but his title defense came to an end in the quarterfinals.
Ymer's best result in the lead-up to the French Open was a second round appearance at the Grand Prix Hassan II. Given his ranking, the Swede needed to go through the qualifying rounds to secure his place in the main draw of the season's second Major.
Ymer defeated Francesco Passaro and Marc Polmans in the first two qualifying rounds. Yannick Hanfmann, who had just reached the quarterfinals of the Italian Open, stood between him and a place in the main draw. The Swede defeated him in straight sets to qualify for the French Open for the third time in his career.
Casper Ruud vs Elias Ymer head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Casper Ruud vs Elias Ymer odds
(Odds sourced from BetMGM)
Casper Ruud vs Elias Ymer prediction
Expectations were high from Ruud to succeed during this clay swing. Despite winning a title, it does feel like he underperformed by a fair bit. He reached the final in Paris last year, but received a beatdown from his idol Rafael Nadal.
Ruud's level has fluctuated wildly over the past few weeks. He hasn't done as well during return games during the clay season, winning just 24% of them. Despite his struggles, the Norwegian remains a credible threat on the surface based on his history.
It's just a matter of gaining some momentum, and Ruud has enough time to find his footing at the French Open given his draw. Ymer has won just six main draw matches across the ATP and Challenger tours this year. Given the Swede's dire form, expect the World No. 4 to make a winning start here.
Pick: Casper Ruud to win in straight sets.