Novak Djokovic vs Casper Ruud preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | French Open 2023, Final

Match Details

Fixture: (3) Novak Djokovic vs (4) Casper Ruud

Tournament: French Open 2023

Round: Final

Venue: Paris, France

Date: Sunday, June 11

Timing: Approx. 2:30 pm local time, 6 pm IST, 12:30 pm GMT, 8:30 am ET

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor clay

Prize money: €49,600,000

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports, Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten

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Novak Djokovic vs Casper Ruud preview

Novak Djokovic in action at the French Open

Third seed Novak Djokovic will take on fourth seed Casper Ruud in the French Open final on Sunday.

Djokovic has been in terrific form at the claycourt Major. He booked his place in the semifinals with wins over Aleksandar Kovacevic, Marton Fucsovics, 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Juan Pablo Varillas and 11th seed Karen Khachanov.

In the last four, he took on top seed Carlos Alcaraz and won the opening set 6-3. The Spaniard bounced back and won the second 7-5 before appearing to struggle due to what looked like cramps. Alcaraz was unable to play at his best level, and Djokovic won the next two sets 6-1, 6-1 to book his place in the final.

Ruud, meanwhile, was seeded fourth at the French Open and reached the final four of the tournament with wins over Elias Ymer, Giulio Olivieri, Zhang Zhizhen, Nicolas Jarry and sixth seed Holger Rune.

The Norwegian's semifinal opponent was 22nd seed Alexander Zverev. He started the match strongly to win the opening set 6-3. Ruud took a stranglehold of the match by taking the second set 6-4.

The match started to slip away from Zverev, as the 24-year-old Ruud won the third 6-0 to reach the French Open final for the second straight year.

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Novak Djokovic vs Casper Ruud head-to-head

Djokovic leads 4-0 in his head-to-head record with Ruud. The last meeting between the two came in the final of the 2022 ATP Finals, which the Serb won 7-5, 6-3.

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Novak Djokovic vs Casper Ruud odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games (Over and Under)
Novak Djokovic	-500	-1.5 (-250)	Over 38.5 (-120)
Casper Ruud	+375	+1.5 (+175)	Under 38.5 (-120)

All odds are sourced from BETMGM.

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Novak Djokovic vs Casper Ruud prediction

Djokovic will enter the match as the favorite, but Ruud has been in pretty good form over the past few weeks and is capable of giving the Serb a run for his money.

Djokovic served eight aces and won 63 of 88 points on his first serve in his semifinal against Alcaraz. The 36-year-old has hit 227 winners during the French Open, but his unforced error count is high at 190.

The Serb, though, is among the finest claycourt players, and his game is enough to rattle any player. His mentality is also a formidable weapon, which could come in very handy in a match of such magnitude.

Ruud, meanwhile, was very strong on his first serve in his semifinal against Zverev, serving five aces and winning 39 out of 55 points. The Norwegian has hit 188 winners but also produced 171 unforced errors in the tournament.

Ruud plays his best tennis on clay and has an effective topspin-heavy forehand that helps him dictate points. The Norwegian will have to bring his A-game and need to be as composed as possible to script what would be a shock win over Djokovic.

While Ruud is a very fine player, it's difficult to write off the Serb, considering his current run of form as he chases a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title.

Pick: Djokovic in four sets