Casper Ruud vs Alexander Zverev Prediction: A chance to reach the final stage of the Ronald Garros and be the successor of Rafael Nadal

Tomorrow, 9th June, in the late afternoon in Paris, the second semifinal of the Roland Garros will take place. All eyes will be on the generational fight between Carlos Alcaraz, nr. the 1 in the world, and Novak Djokovic, the longest nr. 1 in the last ten years of ATP, but a finalist will also come out of this match with the statuary German standing at 1,96cm vs the Norwegian Casper Ruud that had based his career on great successes on clay, his favorite surface so far. Ruud, against most of the odds, arrives here after a sensational win vs Rune, the Danish talent beat in 4 sets. In contrast, Zverev won against the surprise of this Roland Garros so far, the Argentinian Etcheverry, also beat in 4 sets. The head-to-head favors Zverev 2-1; however, all three previous encounters were on hard courts. It is planned to be a very tight match, with the backhand of both players severely tested.

The Norwegian player, stable in the top 5 in the ATP ranking, gets his second chance to reach the final at the Roland Garros. Last year he lost against the king of clay, Rafael Nadal, so this year, without the presence of the Spanish legend who will come back in 2024, he plays his chances to win the tournament. With his consistency in the game and good fundamentals, Ruud is possibly the most round-skilled player of the four left in the semifinals. His weakness is his struggle when playing against the top 5 players, with his record being poor vs all of them.

Standing at 196cm, his best chances normally are on hard courts, and that’s how he reached the US Open final, where he lost against Thiem in 2019. He also improved his game on clay, reaching multiple victories in the ATP 500. If he can keep the match short and not over 4 sets Zverev is the favorite, as his explosiveness can make the difference here. If the match goes for 5 sets his physical superiority can turn against him as his fatigue will come out and favor the smaller Ruud in the movements on a clay court.

With Zverev returning not long ago after a serious and career-threatening injury on these same courts during the semifinal vs Nadal last year, his desire for revenge and to show everyone he can reach the final of Roland Garros is present more than ever. With his big serve capability and improved forehand, this should make the difference in a very tight match between 2 players that reached previous Grand Slam finals, Zverev at the Us Open and Ruud here last year.