Kitzbuhel Open 2021: Casper Ruud vs Mario Vilella Martinez Preview, Head to Head and Prediction


Kitzbuhel Open 2021: Casper Ruud vs Mario Vilella Martinez Preview, Head to Head and Prediction

Casper Ruud vs Mario Vilella Martinez

Number 1 seed Casper Ruud faces unseeded Mario Vilella Martinez for a place in the Austrian Open quarter final in Kitzbühel.

ADVERTISEMENT

Benoit Paire vs Casper Ruud : Match Details

TournamentATP Austrian Open 2021
MatchCasper Ruud vs Mario Vilella Martinez
RoundRound of 16
Date28th July 2021
Prize MoneyUSD 9,000
VenueKitzbühel, Austria
SurfaceOutdoor Clay Court

Casper Ruud vs Mario Vilella Martinez Preview

Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud

22-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud has been incredibly consistent on Clay surfaces of late. He comes into the match having won the Swedish Open, beating Argentine Federico Coria in the final. He was seeded number 1 and lived up to the seeding and is looking to establish himself as the future King of Clay. He didn’t however, have a great Wimbledon, crashing out in the first round to Australian Jordan Thompson in a 5 set thriller. Since that loss, however, Ruud has won the 2 tournaments he has played, namely the Swiss Open and the Swedish Open

Spaniard Mario has been playing Challenger events and had a disappointing Wimbledon too, where has lost in the qualifier against Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia. He the won the L’Aquila Challenger event, before getting knocked out in the quarter final of the Tampere Open. He has also lost a match at the Austrian Open itself, losing in the second qualifier match to number 3 seed Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia.

Casper Ruud vs Mario Vilella Martinez Head to Head

Mario Vilella Martinez
Mario Vilella Martinez

The pair’s one and only meeting came long back in 2016 at the ITF Spain F3. The Norwegian emerged victorious, winning a 3 setter in the quarter final.

ADVERTISEMENT

Casper Ruud vs Mario Vilella Martinez Prediction

Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud has been destructive ever since his shock opening round loss to Australian Jordan Thompson at Wimbledon. He is seeded number one at Kitzbühel and would be looking convert that advantage into a hat-trick of ATP titles. Spaniard Mario enters the clash as rank outsider and will be hoping to cause an upset.

Prediction: Ruud to win in straight sets.

Also read: Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga shares picture of his newborn on Twitter