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Match Details
Fixture: (1) Casper Ruud vs Jaume Munar.
Date: October 4, 2022
Tournament: Japan Open 2022.
Round: First round (Round of 32).
Venue: Tokyo, Japan.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $1,953,285.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | Australia - beIN Sports.
Casper Ruud vs Jaume Munar preview
World No. 3 Casper Ruud will take on Spain's Jaume Munar in the first round of the 2022 Japan Open on Tuesday.
Ruud's having the best season of his career so far. He reached a couple of Grand Slam finals, but came up short on both occasions. He lost to Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open and the US Open respectively. His run in New York also propelled him to a career-high ranking of No. 2.
Ruud has won three titles this year, all of them on clay. He also reached the Miami Open final, his first at the Masters 1000 level, but was defeated by Alcaraz. The Norwegian competed at the Korea Open last week and was expected to walk away with the title.
As the top seed there, he received a bye in the first round. He was up against qualifier Nicolas Jarry in the second round and scraped past him in three sets. Ruud faced Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarterfinals and lost to him in three sets. He looked far from his best last week and will be aiming to put up a better performance in Tokyo.
Jaume Munar has been going through a bit of a rough patch recently. He was having a rather average season, with a couple of quarterfinals at ATP 250 events being his best result. Since August, the Spaniard has managed to win just two matches.
Munar defeated Tseng Chun-hsin in the first round of the Winston-Salem Open before losing to Botic van de Zandschulp. He then lost in the first round of his next two tournaments. At last week's Korea Open, he led Yosuke Watanuki 2-1 in the first set of the opening round when his opponent had to retire due to injury. The 25-year-old then lost to Denis Shapovalov in the next round.
Casper Ruud vs Jaume Munar head-to-head
Ruud leads Munar 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent encounter at the 2022 Swiss Open in two tight sets.
Casper Ruud vs Jaume Munar odds
(All odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Casper Ruud vs Jaume Munar prediction
Ruud looked quite lackluster during last week's Korea Open and was unable to maintain a high level of play for an extended period. Munar is having some trouble of his own, with the Spaniard racking up more losses than wins of late.
While both players are more at home on clay, Ruud has displayed considerable improvement on hardcourt. The same can't be said of Munar.
The Norwegian looks to be the aggressor more often now, with his slightly changed backhand working quite well. Their previous meeting took place a few months ago, with Ruud coming out on top in two tie-breaks. However, that match was on clay, a surface where Munar's game was the most effective.
Ruud will be eager to step up and put last week's disappointing result behind him. Munar isn't likely to give him a lot of trouble.
Pick: Casper Ruud to win in straight sets.
