ATP Masters in Shanghai, Round of 16, Tuesday, 10.10.2023
Big hurdle for Casper Ruud in the last 16 in Shanghai. The Norwegian will face Fabian Marozsan, the player who has inflicted one of Carlos Alcaraz’s three defeats from 30 matches this season.
The 24-year-old has already taken Alex De Minaur out of the field in the Chinese metropolis and did not drop a single set in the first three rounds. In my Ruud Marozsan tip, I give a prediction for the round of 16 and recommend a Betano bet.
So far it has been a straightforward tournament for Ruud. Ranked ninth in the world, he only had to intervene in the second round, easily beating Yoshihito Nishioka (7-5, 6-0).
He was also not on court for long against the strong server Christopher Eubanks: 6-4, 6-2. Only the first sets have been a little longer lately for the three-time Grand Slam finalist.
Ten of the last eleven first sets went over at least ten games. Against the strong server Eubanks, I therefore also advised the “over 9.5 games” tip.
However, this time I’m going for a different bet, as some early breaks are realistic in this duel. After all, the Hungarian plays very aggressive tennis. When he has the touch, he produces winners like a conveyor belt.
At the same time, the match can quickly tilt in one direction if he doesn’t hit the balls cleanly. He played his best game against Alcaraz in Rome and sent the Spaniard home in two straight sets.
Since that day at the latest, every competitor on the tour has taken him seriously. Even the bookmakers, who see Ruud as not too clearly ahead at 1.30 odds. Interwetten has given Marozsan 3.50 odds.
The Hungarian is in good form. After all, he did not drop a set against De Minaur, Dusan Lajovic and Arthur Rinderknech. In the second round, he hit a whopping 28 winners with 15 unforced errors against the Australian.
Lajovic could not withstand the power play either, chasing 23 winners. Marozsan succeeded in 15 of 17 net attacks. No question that with these numbers Ruud has a tough game ahead of him.
He had 14 break points against the Serb alone and also took three service games from De Minaur. A Marozsan set win at 1.86 odds on DAZN Bet could pay off.
But Ruud also presented himself strongly in the rallies in Shanghai. All in all, it should be hard-fought service games, some of which will be lost. Therefore, I do not necessarily expect a tiebreak.
For under 0.5 tiebreaks, Betano has a strong 1.60 odds on offer. In each of the last ten sets between the two players, only one run ended 7-6.
My Ruud Marozsan tip
With Marozsan’s current form, Ruud faces a tough task. If the Hungarian keeps his level at the maximum for the entire length of the match, he will defeat the Norwegian.
But Marozsan also keeps making a few mistakes, from which the three-time Grand Slam finalist will benefit. The breaks should not be long in coming in this duel. I therefore do not expect a tiebreak.
My Ruud Marozsan tip: No tiebreak!
