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Match Details
Fixture: Casper Ruud vs Roberto Bautista Agut
Tournament: Canadian Open 2022
Round: Third round (Round of 16)
Date: August 11, 2022
Venue: Montreal, Canada
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $5,926,545
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - Sportsnet, TVA Sports | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sports 18
Casper Ruud vs Roberto Bautista Agut preview
Fourth seed Casper Ruud will face off against 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round of the Canadian Open on Thursday.
Ruud enters the encounter with a straight-sets 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over Alex Molcan in the second round in Montreal. He has had an exceptional year so far. The 23-year-old reached his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, where he was mastered by his idol Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
Owing to his stint in Paris, Ruud achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 5. The Norwegian added three more titles to his tally this year to take the count to nine. He was the champion at the Argentina Open and successfully defended his titles at the Geneva Open and the Swiss Open.
He also made it to the finals of the Miami Open, a Masters 1000 event, but was taken out by Carlos Alcaraz. Additionally, Ruud was also a semifinalist at the Rome Masters, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Roberto Bautista Agut is also having a pretty successful season himself. The Spaniard has accumulated two titles this season at the Qatar Open and the Austrian Open, taking his career ATP title count to 11.
The World No. 18 also made the final of the Mallorca Open but lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in a tight three-set encounter. He was also a quarterfinalist at the Halle Open.
The 34-year-old defeated enters Thursday's contest on the back of a 7-5, 6-1 win against Jenson Brooksby in the second round.
Casper Ruud vs Roberto Bautista Agut head-to-head
Roberto Bautista Agut leads the head-to-head against Casper Ruud 2-0. The duo have faced each other at the 2018 Bavarian International and the ATP Cup this year. The Spaniard emerged victorious in straight sets in both those match-ups.
Casper Ruud vs Roberto Bautista Agut odds
(All odds are sourced from bet365)
Casper Ruud vs Roberto Bautista Agut prediction
Theoretically, the Spanish veteran should be the favorite to win this encounter.
Clay is Ruud’s preferred surface. He has a 10-4 win-loss record on hardcourts this season. Out of his nine titles, only one has come on the hardcourts (San Diego 2021).
The Norwegian plays from the back of the court. He uses heavy topspin on both his forehand and backhand and dishes out winners with his powerful two-handed backhand. However, Ruud’s game style suits clay best.
Bautista Agut, meanwhile, has registered 14 wins against six losses on hardcourts this year. Interestingly, eight of his 11 titles have come on the surface. He is a three-time quarterfinalist at the Canadian Open, with 2021 being the most recent.
The Spaniard shows immense consistency with his play. He hardly gives his opponents any free points and makes them dig deep in the rallies to have a chance at scoring. The 34-year-old wears his opponent down to extract unforced errors from them while making almost none.
Although he has had a hard time closing out his first set in previous matches, Bautista Agut is yet to drop a set at the Canadian Open. Given his record against the Norwegian, Bautista Agut will have an edge over the 23-year-old in this encounter.
Pick: Bautista Agut to win in three sets.
