Casper Ruud vs Alexander Zverev Preview & Prediction | 2024 French Open | Semi-Final
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Both Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev are aiming for absolution this weekend after suffering plenty of heartbreak at Roland-Garros in recent seasons.
START DATE/TIME: Friday 7th June 2024, UK – not before 16:30 / US EST – not before 11:30 / US PST – not before 08:30
VENUE: Roland Garros Stadium, Paris, France
SURFACE: Outdoor clay
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Eurosport / US – NBC, Peacock and Tennis
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – discovery+ / US – NBC, Peacock and Tennis
TICKETS: Visit this link for the latest Casper Ruud vs Alexander Zverev ticket information
CASPER RUUD – Aiming for a third-successive final at Roland-Garros
World number seven Casper Ruud finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Roland-Garros last summer but he avoided that problem altogether this time around, benefitting from the defending champion’s withdrawal with a wildcard through to the semi-finals. The 25-year-old is riding an eight-match winning streak from success at the Geneva Open two weeks ago and that should see him cope better than most with the sudden rest, particularly on his favoured surface – with 11 of his 12 career trophies coming on clay.
Ruud became the first Norwegian to claim a top five win with victory over Djokovic at the Monte-Carlo Masters in April and he beat former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas to the Barcelona 500 a week later.
ALEXANDER ZVEREV – Fourth-successive semi-final at Roland-Garros
World number four Alexander Zverev was in a real match with Alex de Minaur on Wednesday night but he will be pleased to have come through in three tight sets. The 27-year-old came into Roland-Garros as a pre-tournament favourite but the performances of fellow semi-finalists Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz has pegged him back, as did his near-miss five-set slogs over Tallon Griekspoor and Holger Rune in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.
Zverev turned his ankle badly whilst looking the better player against Rafael Nadal at this stage two years ago but he was well beaten by Ruud this time last year. The German is fully recovered this time around, though, enjoying some of best tennis of his career in 2024 and riding an 11-match winning streak on clay after success at the Italian Open.
CASPER RUUD VS ALEXANDER ZVEREV PREDICTION
This will be a really fascinating clash between Roland-Garros nearly-men Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud, with their head-to-head finely poised at 2-2.
Ruud won their only previous encounter at this exact stage last summer, in straight sets, but Zverev was still on the road back from his injury here the previous year and this should be a much closer contest. Only one of their four encounters has seen sets go both ways, with Zverev earning at least a set in each of the first three, but Ruud has won each of their last two.
It is difficult to confidently back Ruud to cope well with the extra rest from avoiding his quarter-final fixture with Djokovic, although what had looked an ill-advised appearance in Geneva could actually come to his aid in that respect, whilst it remains to be seen how much Zverev’s marathon matches so far will cost him – just as we saw in Daniil Medvedev’s ill-fated run to the Australian Open final in January.
Zverev has spent over four more hours on court this fortnight than Ruud and he has lost in each of the last three semi-finals to add an extra layer of baggage. His defeat to Medvedev, from two sets up, at this stage in Melbourne earlier this season adds further pressure to this encounter – as does the trial currently taking place in Berlin.
Back Ruud to earn at least two sets with all the tools to make this match a gruelling, and increasingly stressful, experience for his opponent, to leave the ultimate result up to chance.
CASPER RUUD VS ALEXANDER ZVEREV TIP: CASPER RUUD TO WIN TWO SETS
