Cincinnati 2021: Alexander Zverev vs Casper Ruud preview, head-to-head & prediction | Western & Southern Open

Match details

Fixture: (3) Alexander Zverev vs (8) Casper Ruud

Date: 20 August 2021

Tournament: 2021 Western & Southern Open

Round: Quarterfinals

Venue: Cincinnati, Ohio

Category: ATP Masters 1000

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $3,028,140

Match timing: Not before 8.30 pm local time, 12.30 am GMT (Saturday), 6 am IST (Saturday)

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Alexander Zverev vs Casper Ruud preview

Alexander Zverev will lock horns with Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Western & Southern Open on Friday.

Zverev and Ruud both posted emphatic wins in their respective third-round matches on Thursday. While the German beat Guido Pella 6-2, 6-3, Ruud brushed aside Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-3.

Interestingly, this is the first time that both Zverev and Ruud have posted back-to-back victories at the Western & Southern Open. Zverev owned a 0-6 win-loss record before the start of this edition, while the Norwegian was winless in his two previous matches.

Zverev, however, has come out all guns blazing in Cincinnati this year. After defeating Lloyd Harris in his opener, the Olympic champion made short work of Guido Pella in the third round.

The 24-year-old was at his imperious best against Pella. He didn't yield an inch to the Argentine in his service games, conceding a mere eight points on his delivery - three of which were double faults.

Zverev didn't face a single break point in the match and had an 85% success rate on his first serve. That was similar to his figures from the win over Harris, against whom he didn't face a break point and won 86% of his first-serve points.

Casper Ruud, on his part, is enjoying a good run of form on hardcourts lately. A week after having made his first hardcourt Masters quarterfinal in Toronto, Ruud has repeated the feat in Cincinnati.

So far this week the Norwegian has registered impressive wins over Reilly Opelka and Diego Schwartzman, both of whom are tricky opponents.

Casper Ruud at the 2021 National Bank Open

Unlike on clay, where his forehand is his most dominant shot, Ruud has enjoyed a huge amount of success on his serve in Cincinnati. Against Opelka, he hammered a whopping 21 aces (more than Opelka's 17), won 87% of his first-serve points, and didn't get broken even once.

Even though Ruud could manage only six aces against Schwartzman, he won 91% of his first-serve points and didn't concede a single break point.

Alexander Zverev vs Casper Ruud head-to-head

The head-to-head between Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud currently stands at 0-0. They were due to face each other at the Mexican Open earlier this year, but the Norwegian handed Zverev a walkover.

Alexander Zverev vs Casper Ruud prediction

Given how well Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud have served so far, we can expect a tiebreaker or two in this match. But the German will have a distinct edge in this match since he is a considerably better returner on hardcourt.

Even though Ruud has improved by leaps and bounds on this surface, his topspin-heavy groundstrokes might sit right in the wheelhouse of the 6'5" Zverev. The German is exceptionally solid on both wings, and should be expected to come through this encounter.

Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in three sets.