H2H: Alex de Minaur vs. Casper Ruud - Prediction (ATP Milan

Preview and players comparison.

Casper Ruud raced to a straight-set win when the pair met once in the semifinal of Braga Challenger (C) last year, but playing on indoor hardcourt does give Alex de Minaur an excellent opportunity to level the H2H series as well as maintain his unbeaten record in the round-robin matches.

Alex de Minaur was made to work hard for the win by Miomir Kecmanovic in his second round-robin match on Wednesday. He needed a tiebreaker in the second set and got outplayed in the third but dominated the fourth set to complete the win, 4-1 4-3 1-4 4-0. The 20-year-old Aussie will now look to maintain his perfect record in the group stages of ATP Next Gen Finals with a win against Casper Ruud on Thursday. Making his Next Gen Finals debut in 2018, Alex de Minaur won all his three round-robin matches and went onto finish as the runner-up to top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Alex de Minaur is the favorite to win the title in Milan this week as he has accomplished more on the main tour than all other seven players combined. The top-ranked Australian lifted three ATP Tour titles in the last ten months, finished as the runner-up in Basel a few weeks ago, and attained his career-high ranking of #18.

“This is what you expect in these conditions. A match can turn quickly. I didn’t play badly, [but] he just played well in the important moments. I just had to regroup and stick to my game,” said Alex de Minaur after the win.

Casper Ruud edged past the injured Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in five sets to register his first win in ATP Next Gen Finals. His only other match in this event ended in a straight-set defeat against Miomir Kecmanovic on Tuesday. mThe runner-up of ATP Houston, Casper Ruud will have to beat Alex de Minaur in straight sets and then need Miomir Kecmanovic to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the other round-robin match to qualify for the semifinal of ATP Next Gen Finals on his debut appearance.