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Fixture: (2) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs (4) Casper Ruud
Date: February 23, 2024
Tournament: Los Cabos Open 2024
Round: Semifinal
Venue: Los Cabos, Mexico
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Hardcourt
Prize Money: $915,245
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Casper Ruud preview
Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas will square off against Casper Ruud in the semifinals of the 2024 Los Cabos Open on Friday.
Tsitsipas received a direct bye into the second round, where he scored a convincing 6-3, 6-0 win over Aleksandar Vukic. He then faced Aleksandar Kovacevic in the quartefinals.
Tsitsipas rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the first set to push it into a tie-break, in which he gained the upper hand to take the opener. The Greek dictated the play for most of the second set and lone break of serve in his favor helped him score a 7-6 (1), 6-3 win.
As one of the top seeds, Ruud also received a first-round bye here. He commenced his campaign with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win over Marcos Giron in the second round. The Norwegian was up against Nuno Borges for a place in the last four.
Ruud landed the first blow in the opening set as an early break put him ahead 3-0. He didn't let the headstart to go waste and remained in front until the end of the set to take it. He took charge of the reins in the second set as he bagged five straight games from 2-1 down for a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Casper Ruud head-to-head
The two have split their previous couple of meetings evenly to tie the head-to-head at 1-1. Tsitsipas won their last encounter at the 2021 Canadian Open in straight sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Casper Ruud odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Casper Ruud prediction
Ruud didn't drop his serve even once during his quarterfinal clash against Borges. He won 78% of his first serve points and hit 12 winners against just four unforced errors.
Tsitsipas overcame a slow start but raised his level as the match went on to defeat Kovacevic. The Greek won 87% of points on the back of his first serve and blasted 26 winners in all.
The two are set to cross paths for the first time in over two years. A lot has changed since their last meeting, but both find themselves in a similar predicament for now. Ruud was the first of two to depart the top 10 of the ATP rankings, followed by the more recent exit of Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas will be favored just a bit in this match-up given that it's on hardcourt. He did win their previous match on the surface, with Ruud's win coming on clay. However, the latter seems to be in a slightly better form this week given the nature of his wins. If he maintains this level, the Norwegian has it in him to get the better of his rival and reach the final.
Pick: Casper Ruud to win in three sets.
