US Open 2023: Casper Ruud vs Zhizhen Zhang preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (5) Casper Ruud vs Zhizhen Zhang

Tournament: US Open 2023

Date: Wednesday, August 30

Round: Second Round (Round of 64)

Venue: New York, USA

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Hardcourt

Prize money: $65,000,000

Live telecast:- USA: ESPN | UK: Sky Sports | Australia: Nine Network | Canada: TSN | India & South Asia: Sony Sports Network

Casper Ruud vs Zhizhen Zhang preview

Fifth seed Casper Ruud continues his US Open campaign against China's Zhizhen Zhang as a place in the third round beckons.

World No. 5 Ruud opened his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title with a hard-fought win over American qualifier Emilio Nava. In a surprisingly tight opening set, Ruud edged his opponent in a tiebreak to draw first blood, but Nava wasn't going anywhere.

The 21-year-old Nava restored parity by dropping only three games, and Ruud knew he had a fight in his hands against an inspired opponent. The Norwegian grabbed the third set for the loss of four games.

The finish line appeared in sight for the 2022 finalist when he broke for 4-2, but Nava broke back to force a tiebreak, where Ruud won four of the last six points to bring up his 200th tour-level win. Braving a 72 winners from Nava, the 24-year-old Ruud is now 30-17 on the season and 10-5 at Flushing Meadows.

Meanwhile, the 67th-ranked Zhang saw off unseeded American J.J. Wolf to bring up his first US Open win in his second attempt. The 26-year-old grabbed the first two sets 7-5 before Wolf reduced arrears by taking the third in tiebreak.

The American took the fourth 6-4, but Zhang reasserted control of proceedings - conceding three games - to improve to 14-14 on the season. Earlier this season, the Chinese reached the Hamburg semifinals, and the last eight at Madrid and Eastbourne.

Casper Ruud vs Zhizhen Zhang head-to-head

Ruud took his lone meeting with Zhang in the Roland Garros third round this year in four sets. This will be their first clash on hardcourt.

Casper Ruud vs Zhizhen Zhang odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games (over/under)
Casper Ruud
Zhizhen Zhang

The odds will be updated when they release.

Casper Ruud vs Zhizhen Zhang prediction

Both Ruud and Zhang are quintessential baseliners and have similar game styles. Both aren't the biggest servers or most powerful hitters but move well.

Ruud, though, takes the edge because of his superior experience, consistency, and pedigree, especially at the Majors, where he has reached three finals, including one at New York. Zhang, meanwhile, is 3-5 at Majors.

The Chinese has had an impressive season, reaching multiple quarterfinals, but beating last year's finalist could be a task beyond him. Ruud fired 27 winners in the first round but will need to produce more of the same, though.

Pick: Ruud in four sets

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Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Yash Singh