Before Christmas, I picked out CASPER RUUD at 150/1 for the French Open in my ante-post preview of the French Open.
An injury-hit start to the campaign didn’t bode well but the Norwegian is now very much up and running and, after his run to the semi-finals of the recent Monte Carlo Masters, he’s into 80/1 in that market.
He’s obviously a lot shorter for this ‘250’ event – the lowest rank of tournament on the ATP Tour – but now could well be the time to back him again.
Ruud beat a string of top-20 stars in Monte Carlo – Fabio Fognini, Pablo Carreno Busta and Diego Schwartzman – before losing to Andrey Rublev. It was his second Masters semi-final on clay, having also made the last four in Rome, post-lockdown, last season.
It appears the fruits of his labour have ripened well.
Prior to August’s resumption, Ruud said: “I’ve made useful improvements in many different areas.
“I’ve tried taking my game to a new level by trying new ways of playing.
“I’ve purposely practised inside the court and been much more aggressive.”
He wasn’t just talking a good game; those improvements have been evident.
With Munich getting pretty close to the Alps there’s a bit of altitude here – it’s around 500m above sea level – so it’s worth looking for player who have good experience in such conditions.
Ruud ticks that box having made the final in Santiago last year and the semis in Kitzbuhel in 2019, an event at which he beat Pablo Cuevas, who could be his opening foe this week.
His under-rated serve should set him up well in such conditions, while his game from the baseline has always been strong and, as highlighted, is improving too.
The main danger, at least at time of writing, in his section of the draw is Aslan Karatsev, whose terrific season continued over the weekend in Belgrade where he defeated world number one Novak Djokovic in his own back yard in a match lasting well over three hours.
But I expect that week has taken plenty out of the Russian, physically and mentally, and while I can see good reasons why people would want to back him at 11/2, my preference is for Ruud at a similar price of 5/1.
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