In a repeat of the 2022 US Open final, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud open this year's John Newcombe Group at the ATP World Tour Finals on Monday afternoon.
Both men are bidding to become year-end champions for the first time in Turin, but Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev are also standing in their way of progression to the knockout phase.
Match preview
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As Jannik Sinner flexed his muscles on hard courts with trophy lifts at the Australian and US Opens, Carlos Alcaraz asserted his dominance on clay and grass as far as Grand Slam tournaments were concerned, successfully defending his French Open and Wimbledon crowns in 2024.
The Spaniard was unable to complete a triple summertime threat at the Paris Olympics, though, as an emotional Novak Djokovic avenged his defeat to Alcaraz in the SW19 final, forcing the world number three to travel home with only a silver medal around his neck.
The less said about Alcaraz's last two Masters performances the better too - he suffered a shock Paris exit to Ugo Humbert after a quarter-final elimination to Tomas Machac in Shanghai - but he wrote another page of history with a gripping China Open final success over Sinner.
By coming from behind to defeat the world number one in three, Alcaraz became the first men's player in history to win ATP 500 titles on all three surfaces, and that victory marked a fourth top-level title for the Spaniard in 2024 after also besting Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells.
When he takes to the court on Monday, Alcaraz will be competing in the ATP Finals for just the second time in his career; the 21-year-old had to withdraw from the 2022 competition due to injury, before making it to the semi-finals last year and bowing out to eventual winner Djokovic.
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Always the bridesmaid but never the bride, three-time Grand Slam runner-up Ruud was also a finalist at the 2022 edition of the ATP Finals - going down to none other than Djokovic - either side of reaching the 2021 semis and failing to qualify last year.
The 2024 campaign was another underwhelming one as far as majors were concerned for the Norwegian, who fell in the second round of Wimbledon, the third round of the Australian Open and the fourth round of the US Open, while getting to the last four at Roland-Garros after Djokovic withdrew from their quarter-final.
However, Ruud is back among the Turin elite thanks to his run to five ATP Finals this year, losing his first three in Los Cabos, Acapulco and Monte-Carlo before triumphing in his most recent two, April's Barcelona Open and May's Geneva Open.
The world number seven also became the first man from his nation to reach the Olympic quarter-finals, but his struggles have shown no signs of letting up as the days get shorter; he has won just one of his last six ATP Tour matches since the Laver Cup.
That miserable sequence includes early exits in Shanghai (to Aleksandar Vukic) and Paris (to Jordan Thompson), so precedent is very much against the 25-year-old when he squares up to an opponent whom he is yet to get the better of at the top level.
Head To Head
China Open (2023) - Quarter-final: Alcaraz wins 6-4 6-2
US Open (2022) - Final: Alcaraz wins 6-4 2-6 7-6[1] 6-3
Miami Open (2022) - Final: Alcaraz wins 7-5 6-4
Marbella Open (2021) - Quarter-final: Alcaraz wins 6-2 6-4
From four previous battles on the ATP Tour and Grand Slams, Alcaraz boasts a perfect 4-0 record against Ruud, whom he memorably overcame in four sets en route to winning his first major title at the 2022 US Open.
Each of the Spaniard's other three victories against the Norwegian have come in straight sets, including the final of the 2022 Miami Open several months before his New York success, and their inaugural meeting in Marbella in 2021.
Most recently, Alcaraz dropped just six games en route to a straightforward quarter-final win over Ruud in Beijing last year, bringing up 15 break points against the Scandinavian while winning 65% of his second serve points.
We say: Alcaraz to win in two sets
Ruud is yet to find the formula to overcome Alcaraz's astonishing athleticism and ferocious forehand, and given the Norwegian's pitiful form over the past couple of months, that should not change here.
The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion was not able to assert his authority in Shanghai or Paris either, but he should not run into too many obstacles against his off-colour opponent on Monday.
Ben Knapton
