Casper Ruud won the 2023 Estoril Open, and he's back this year to defend his trophy with his next challenger being Marton Fucsovics.
Ruud's 2023 year was not good; in fact, it was terrible, but one of the highlights was his run at the ATP 250 tournament in Estoril, which ended up being the only trophy he won that year.
He isn't a player who would be expected to win every tournament that he enters, but since his breakout, Ruud has not had many seasons without winning at least two career trophies.
This year has looked far better so far. He's already up to 19 wins, which is basically half of what he won in total last year (39). If he goes all the way in Estoril, it would still be the first trophy of the year for him, like last year, even though he's playing much better.
He's looked really strong so far at the event, winning his first match comfortably, and now he looks to keep that going against Fucsovics.
They never played at the highest level of the ATP Tour, but they played many years ago at the Budapest Challenger. Fucsovics won that match 6-0 6-0, and I best believe that Ruud remembers it.
I expect him to come out with some pretty nice fire for this match, but even without, he'd been favored. Ruud is the far better clay player, as this is his best surface, and the courts in Estoril seem to work really well for him. He's looked really solid so far this year, so Fucsovics will be in trouble here.
| Casper Ruud | Marton Fucsovics | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | H2H | 0 |
| 8 | Rank | 85 |
| 25 | Age | 32 |
| 18-5 | 2024 W/L | 4-6 |
| 225-120 | Career W/L | 151-151 |
I don't really see the Hungarian troubling his opponent in this match. He'll need his serve to keep it remotely close, but even then, I expect Ruud to cruise in two sets.
Prediction: Casper Ruud to win in two sets.