Casper Ruud vs Sebastian Baez Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Hamburg European Open

Prediction published on 24/07/2023, 21:18  by Joseph King | Modified on 26/07/2023 at 03:05 in Tennis Predictions

The Hamburg European Open first round sees one of the tournament favorites in action with top-seeded Casper Ruud taking on Sebastian Baez. Ruud, who holds the world number four ranking in the ATP, will be looking to bounce back after a second-place finish in the Swedish Open just a few days prior. In addition to his loss to Djokovic in the final at Roland Garros back in June, Ruud has now finished as the runner-up twice in the last two months. The 24-year-old is seeking his 11th ATP title and will have to be considered as a real threat to win this event given his recent excellent form on clay. The Norwegian clearly appears to enjoy himself on type of surface as he as won 255 of his 316 all-time matches on clay courts. Ruud has a recent history against Baez as well, winning in straight sets 6-3 and 6-0 when the two faced off in April. Ruud’s last outing resulted in a 2-0 defeat in the Swedish Open final to Andrey Rublev. 

Sebastian Baez comes into this encounter as a heavy underdog to advance to the round of 16. The Argentine has been on a tough stretch of form and has been bounced out in the first round of three of his last four events played. The farthest the 22-year-old has gotten in the one tournament that he did survive was the second round, where he lost to Tommy Paul. Baez’s most recent appearance was the Swedish Open where he lost 2-1 to Federico Coria. Baez started out the year strong with a win on home soil in the Cordoba Open back in February. Since then, however, it’s been a struggle. The young Baez has seen his record dip below 50% in the calendar year with 18 wins and 19 losses. It won’t get any easier here as he will almost surely be looking at another defeat.