It’s Super Sunday! From 64 players we’re now down to only two, it’s time for number 6 versus the number 7 in the world. Who’ll be the ultimate winner at the 71st edition of the Barcelona Open? Stefanos Tsitsipas got the better of the Norwegian tennis star, Casper Ruud in straight sets when they took on each other at the finals in Monte Carlo last weekend. Will it be the Greek yet again?

Casper Ruud on the other hand has been in some exceptional form this year. He has already reached 4 finals, 1 SF, and 1 QF this year. But has been the second best all the time this year. Can he break this jinx by winning a title at the court which is named after his idol, Rafael Nadal? Surely, he’ll want to get the blessings of ‘King of Clay’ ahead of this mega battle.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Casper Ruud: Preview

Stefanos Tsitsipas has been in red-hot form this year. He first met Casper Ruud this year in the SF of the Los Cabos Open. After that, he reached the QF of the Mexican Open. Then it was followed by some pretty ordinary performances at the ‘Sunshine Doubles’ But cometh the clay, cometh Stefanos Tsitsipas! He won the title in Monte Carlo and now he’s eyeing to clinch his second clay court title in a single month.

Tsitsipas defeated Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic in the SF of the Barcelona Open by 5-7,6-4,6-2. Although he has looked a bit shaky in his previous two matches, he has time and again proved how the experience of playing on the bigger stage can come in handy in tight situations of the game. The Greek tennis star fired in 5 aces and committed 6 double faults against Lajovic. Stefanos Tsitsipas won 82% of his first and 71% of his second serve against the Serbian. He converted 3 out of 4 breakpoints in that match. The No. 7 looked quite good with his serves and won 14 of his service games in that match.

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Can he fire in some more aces against the ‘Iceman’? Ruud’s calm and composure along with his great court coverage will be put to the test in this intriguing battle. The 25-year-old will look forward to taking his revenge on the Greek tennis heartthrob. Ruud has been a consistent performer on the clay over the year. In his previous match, he defeated Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry by 7-6(6),6-4. What will be the scoreline in the next?

If we look at the statistics from the SF match, Casper Ruud has hit 1 ace and committed only 1 double fault. His first serve win percentage was 79% and it dropped to 57% on his second serve. He successfully managed to convert 3 of 6 break points and won 13 games against Etcheverry. 

Acing the aces will be a major deciding factor in this match. Stefanos Tsitsipas has so far managed to hit 151 aces this season, while Casper Ruud has managed a staggering 174 aces in the 2024 season. Ruud looks slightly ahead looking in this. But what about H2H?

Tsitsipas vs Ruud: Head-to-Head

Both of them are currently level at 2-2 in the H2H. It’s pretty much tight over here, they are like if one wins the first match, the other one will follow it with a win in the next and here’s the evidence of it. Casper Ruud won their first face-off at the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid in 2021 by a 7-6(4),6-4 margin. It was soon followed by a QF triumph by Tsitsipas at the 2021 ATP Masters 1000 Canada. Tsitsipas defeated Ruud by 6-1,6-4.

Then after a few years gap, Ruud came back with a victory at the Los Cabos Open this year before Tsitsipas’ made that title triumph in Monte Carlo by defeating Ruud by 6-1,6-4. In the Monte Carlo Masters Final, Stefanos Tsitsipas hit 3 aces compared to only 2 by Casper Ruud in the entire match. Both of them committed just a single double fault in that match. Tsitsipas’ win percentage on the first serve in that match was 60% while it was notched up to 67% by the Norwegian.

The Greek tennis star had won 68% of his second serve but it dropped down to 37% for Casper Ruud. Ruud couldn’t covert a single break point in that match, while Tsitsipas was 4/8 in the breakpoints record.  So, here the number 7 clearly has the numbers and results of that match in his favor over the number 6. Will it be the same in their next clash?

Prediction: Tsitsipas to take the lead in their H2H

Although Stefanos Tsitsipas favors the grass courts above all, his current form on clay is next to none on the tour at the moment. He’s currently on a 10-match winning streak on clay. But the most concerning factor for the Greek will be that he had lost all of his previous three finals in Barcelona (2018,2021,2023). He’d surely be eager to turn the tables this time around. Currently, his win-loss record is 17-6 in this season.

For those who are unaware, Tsitsipas reached the finals of the French Open in 2021. So, definitely, he knows a way or two to make things in his favor on the dirt. While Ruud has trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy in the past. Surely he has got some tips and tricks to play on the clay while staying at the ‘Kingdom’. In fact, this was reflected when he reached the finals of the French Open in two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023. Ruud’s win-loss record for this season is 24-7.

The Norwegian will look to take an early advantage in this contest. But for Tsitsipas holding his nerves during the initial phases of the match will be key in this mega-final. But looking at his form and records in the previous final, Stefanos Tsitsipas looks slightly ahead in this contest.