Casper Ruud lost in the Monte-Carlo Masters final over the weekend. He will be active again this week in the 2024 ATP Barcelona tennis tournament, which is also known as the 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Ruud, after resting during the first round with a bye, will face Alexandre Muller in the second round. Ruud is priced at -700 (bet365) to win the match while his opponent is a big underdog at +450 (bet365). My Ruud vs Muller prediction has to do with tennis props. I look at the first set and select a recommendation at longer than EVEN odds.
Order of Play: Right-click/Open in the New Tab to check match times: subject to change
Casper Ruud vs Alexandre Muller Head-to-Head Series
The Ruud vs Muller h2h is 1-0 in favor of the former player. Their match was played on clay but it dates back to the 2018 ATP season. Ruud won a French Open qualifying match against Muller that year. Ruud enters this week as the 6th-ranked player on the ATP Tour. Meanwhile, Muller is out at 110 in the rankings. On year-to-date rankings, Ruud is No. 4 while Muller has had the 118th-best season thus far.
The Draw: Right-click/Open the link in a new tab for the draw for the 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Casper Ruud's Recent Matches and Results
Ruud last played on April 14th, when he lost the Monte-Carlo final to Stefanos Tsitsipas. That was the 5th match in five days for Ruud. Overall, he played 12 sets of tennis in Monte-Carlo, going 8-4 on the sets.
Previously, Ruud was in Estoril, where he went 2-1 in the draw. The Norwegian has played eight matches since April 4th, which is a lot. He has also played 19 sets over that time frame. At earlier points in the season, he did well in multiple hard-court events, including Indian Wells, Acapulco, and Los Cabos. Ruud has made the French Open final in each of the last two seasons.
Casper Ruud
Serving ability: 13th/clay/last 52 weeks
Return-of-serve ability: 21st/clay/last 52 weeks
Alexandre Muller's Recent Matches and Results
Muller played in the first round of the Barcelona event. He beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas in straight sets. Ramos-Vinolas has not been difficult to beat this season so the result could be taken lightly.
Muller opened his clay-court season in Marrakech a couple of weeks ago, where he went 0-1. Muller went 1-1 in Monte-Carlo, losing to Luca Nardi in the second round last week. The French player has not been much of a factor on tour this season and some of his wins have been in qualifying draws.
Last year, Muller was inconsistent on clay. He does have some demonstrated abilities for the surface, including an appearance in the Marrakech 2023 final. He also won a challenger event on clay in 2023. However, he had some first-round exits in low-tiered events as well.
Ruud vs Muller Prediction: OVER 9.5 games first set
At -700 (bet365), Ruud is not worth taking on the moneyline. There is a chance that he is tired heading into this match. He did have a first-round bye in Barcelona and that should help him deal with the fatigue but you have to be thinking about how short those odds are. You are getting one of the best players on tour this season but there's at least a small chance he is off peak.
Also, Muller has some clay-court aptitude. It's about what version of himself shows up for the tournament. He did post a 6-0 set in the last round against Ramos-Vinolas so perhaps Muller is feeling good in the Barcelona conditions this week. My recommendation is OVER 9.5 games in the first set at +110 (bet365). I think Muller has a little bit of staying power and that Ruud might be a bit sluggish. That bet still wins at plus-side odds if Muller loses the first set 4-6.
Muller vs Ruud prediction: Draw at the 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Ruud is the No. 3 seed in the event. In the next round, he could face Jordan Thompson, the tournament's No. 14 seed. Sebastian Baez has already gone out in this quarter, which would leave it between Nicolas Jarry and Ruud as the main contenders for a semifinal spot.
Additional reading: All previews for upcoming tennis matches!
