Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2022: Casper Ruud vs Stefanos Tsitsipas preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (2) Casper Ruud vs (3) Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Date: 17 December 2022.
Tournament: Mubadala World Tennis Championship.
Round: Semifinal.
Venue: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Category: Exhibition Tournament.
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.
Prize money: $250,000.
Match timing: Not before 5 pm local time, 1 pm GMT, 8 am ET and 6:30 pm IST.
Live telecast: USA, UK - Tennis Channel | Australia - Stan Sport.
Casper Ruud vs Stefanos Tsitsipas preview
Two-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud will take on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals of the 2022 Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Saturday.
Ruud has been one of the most consistent players this season. He reached his maiden Grand Slam final at the French Open but lost to Rafael Nadal. He made it to another Major final at the US Open, where he came up short against Carlos Alcaraz. He also won three titles, in Buenos Aires, Geneva and Gstaad.
The Norwegian reached a career-high ranking of No. 2 and due to his string of solid results, qualified for the ATP Finals yet again. He defeated Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the group stage of the year-end championships but lost to Nadal. Nevertheless, he made it to the semifinals, where he defeated Andrey Rublev.
Ruud went up against Novak Djokovic in the final and lost to him in straight sets. He then teamed up with Nadal for an exhibition tour through Latin America and is back in action once again. He received a bye into the semifinals here.
Tsitsipas kicked off his campaign here against Cameron Norrie. The first set was quite one-sided, with the Greek claiming it for the loss of just one game. The second set was a bit more competitive, with the duo being evenly matched for most of it.
Tsitsipas broke Norrie's serve in the ninth game of the set, following which he proceeded to close out the match to win 6-1, 6-4. With the win, he snapped a two-match losing streak against the Brit.
Casper Ruud vs Stefanos Tsitsipas head-to-head
The two have split their previous couple of meetings evenly to tie the head-to-head at 1-1. Tsitsipas won their last encounter at the 2021 Canadian Open in straight sets.
Casper Ruud vs Stefanos Tsitsipas odds
(Odds will be added once they're available)
Casper Ruud vs Stefanos Tsitsipas prediction
Tsitsipas played a pretty great match to ease past Norrie in the previous round. He largely remained in control of the proceedings. His serve was quite effective, winning 85% of first serve points and facing just a solitary break point. The Greek was also quite dominant during the rallies.
Ruud could prove to be a tougher prospect for Tsitsipas. The Norwegian's court coverage is good and has improved his overall gameplay considerably this season. He bides his time until he finds an opening to go for the winning shot. His backhand is much more stable compared to the Greek, which gives him an edge.
Ruud's consistent gameplay could give Tsitsipas some grief, but if he's able to maintain his level from the previous match, he should be able to make it a competitive match. However, the World No. 3 has handled the pressure moments better this year, so if the match goes down to the wire, he's likely to come out on top.
Pick: Casper Ruud to win in three sets.