Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Madrid match.
Jannik Sinner may become the second Italian semi-finalist. However, first he faces Casper Ruud, who is in very good form.
Jannik Sinner
Casper Ruud is a good player but his chances to win are evaluated at 25%, despite Sinner being without a real competition for almost three months. Is the number one really so amazing in Rome? No, nothing special, but the Italian player has managed to beat all his opponents in two sets. The last one was the toughest. Sinner beat Cerúndolo (7:6, 6:3), although the latter has already beat Alexander Zverev twice on clay this year. Yet he failed to do the same with Sinner.
Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud has avoided the toughest opponents this tournament. He’s only faced top 30 most. But Number three in Italy forfeited the game in the second set. Ruud won the previous tournament on clay in Madrid. But it doesn’t mean he can do the same here in Rome. Before winning in Madrid, he had only reached a quarter-final for several months in a row. In Madrid, Ruud played against Cerúndolo and won (6:4, 7:5).
Jannik Sinner vs Casper Ruud Prediction
Ruud is not better than Sinner. Their head-to-head statistics prove it. All four games were won by the Italian. The best result for Ruud was in 2020, but Sinner was lower than the Norwegian that year, even out of top 40. The local audience will help Sinner. Ruud is likely to lose this game.
