Carlos Alcaraz vs Emil Ruusuvuori Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Mutua Madrid Open

Prediction published on 28/04/2023, 03:44  by Kennedy Kechula in Tennis Predictions

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will begin the defence of his Mutua Madrid Open title on Friday when he takes on unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round on an outdoor clay court. Alcaraz won last year’s Madrid Open edition in what was his second appearance at this Masters tournament. Before that, he had been eliminated in the first round on his debut (2021) and this, many believe will not happen again, at least not now. The Spaniard arrives for the defence of his title in scintillating form having won 23 of the 25 matches he has played this year. This has resulted in him advancing to the final in four of the five tournaments he has played and winning three titles. His most recent success was in Barcelona where he retained his title by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets. He will hope to do the same in Madrid which will in turn take him to within five points of assuming world number one status again.

Emil Ruusuvuori is up to number 39 in the live ranking which is just two places below his career high, achieved earlier this month after his quarterfinal showing in Miami. Failure to replicate this as he switched to clay for the season in his next three tournaments saw the Finn drop back down to number 41. His first-round win over Ugo Humbert has propelled him back up the standings and he will hope his head-to-head advantage over Alcaraz allows him to prolong his stay in Madrid. This is his second appearance here and first in the main draw as he was unable to get out of the qualifying rounds in his debut back in 2021. Ruusuvuori has blown hot and cold all season and only has three more wins than losses in the 29 matches he has played. He is not a strong performer on clay and coming up against one of the masters on the surface will be a tough ask for him. Ruusuvuori has the head to head advantage over Alcaraz, having defeated the world number two in their only other previous meeting in the first round of the Miami Open back in 2021. The winner here will advance to the third round where a showdown with 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov or the unseeded Gregoire Barrere awaits.