The night sessions at Suzanne Lenglen Court have been as electrifying as ever, this year at the French Open. Host to some of the finest matches of the tournament, the iconic court is set to witness yet another nail-biting encounter between Casper Ruud and Tomas Martin Etcheverry. A clash between last year’s runner-up and quarterfinalist will surely attract several eyeballs tonight.

Ruud has been one of the most consistent players this season, especially on clay with two titles to his name already. On the other hand, Etcheverry is no novice on this surface, and he enters Paris after making the finals of the Lyon Open.

Casper Ruud vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry: French Open Round 3 Preview

Casper Ruud enjoys a solid 19-4 win-loss record on clay courts this year. Some of his best performances include wins over Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, at the same time, Casper has also suffered a couple of defeats against players ranked outside the top 50, which will surely raise hopes for Etcheverry.

Etcheverry on the other hand, has seen highs and lows in 2024. He failed to make deep runs on Argentine clay courts but started to find momentum in Barcelona, where he eventually lost to Ruud himself. Despite a substandard start to the swing, the Argentine stepped up right before the French Open with his runner-up performance in Lyon.

Casper Ruud vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry: Head-to-Head

Ruud and Tomas have locked horns on two occasions with the Norwegian coming out on top twice.

• Beijing 2023 R16 (H): Ruud won 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(7)
• Barcelona 2024 SF (C): Ruud won 7-6(6), 6-4

Ruud does hold an upper hand, however, both his wins were pretty close encounters, with tiebreaks playing a crucial role.

Prediction:

Despite Ruud’s recent Roland Garros dominance, he has a knack for playing long matches. In fact, he needed five sets to overcome Davidovich Fokina in Round 2. Etcheverry falls in the same category of players known for playing longer matches as neither of his French Open wins came in 3 sets. This matchup has a long four-of-five setter written all over it.

In their Barcelona encounter, Ruud could only manage to hit 1 ace, compared to 4 of those for Tomas. He, however, relied more on third short finishes than unreturned serves, which helped him through his service games. Outside Madrid’s altitude clay, Casper has been recording very few aces this season.

Dealing with Casper’s heavy topspin forehand and cross-court angles will be a massive test for the Argentine. The former finalist has also shown immense rally tolerance throughout the clay swing and will be the more reliable player when the going gets tough. However, Ruud did struggle against Fokina in longer rallies, winning only 29 out of 68 comprising 9+ shots.

Final Verdict: Casper Ruud to win in 4 sets. Since 2 of their 5 sets in previous matches have gone to a tie-break, we are bound to witness a tiebreak in tonight’s encounter as well. In terms of aces, Casper shall not be recording more than 6, while Etcheverry could reach double digits. In total, the match should comprise close to 40 games.