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Nordea Open: Casper Ruud vs. Henri Laaksonen 7/16/21 Tennis Prediction

Casper Ruud vs Henri Laaksonen
July 16, 2021 8:30 am EDT

Top seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud will face unseeded Henri Laaksonen in the Quarter-Finals of the 2021 Nordea Open. The match is scheduled to take place on Friday July 16th, 2021 at approximately 8:30am EST.

Casper Ruud is one of the main contenders for the title here at the 2021 Nordea Open, and is also the first seed. The young Norwegian has truly established himself as one of the best clay court players in the world this season, and broke into the top 20 for the first time. He has brought that momentum here and has been dominant so far in Bastad. Can the unseeded Qualifier Henri Laaksonen get the biggest win of his career and send the number one seed home?

Casper Ruud is the #16 ranked player in the world and has had an outstanding season so far this year, winning the title in Geneva and then reaching back-to-back clay court Masters-1000 Semi-Finals in Monte-Carlo and Madrid. The Norwegian has an ultra-aggressive baseline game that enables him to dominate opponents from the baseline despite his small stature, and his footwork and movement are among the best on the ATP Tour. After receiving a bye in the First Round, he destroyed young Dane Holger Rune 6-0, 6-2 in the Round of 16, a performance that will strike fear into his future opponents. He enters this match against Henri Laaksonen as the big favorite, and once he can nullify his opponent’s big serve, should have no issues coming away with the victory here.

Henri Laaksonen is unseeded here at the 2021 Nordea Open, and is ranked #134 in the world. The big serving Swiss player had back to back three set wins in the Qualifying Rounds, and can count himself lucky to have made the main draw. He certainly has made the most of that luck, and has won his opening two matches in the main draw, including a huge upset win over young sensation Lorenzo Musetti. He is very experienced and is a solid player, however he is up against it here against one of the best players in the world this year in Casper Ruud, and he will have to play his best tennis to make this remotely competitive.

This is the first time that the two players will be meeting on the Tour, and I expect it to be a very comfortable win for Casper Ruud. He is simply on fire at the moment, and it will take a miracle to prevent the Ruud-Garin Final that fans are craving here at the 2021 Nordea Open. He should have no trouble breaking his opponent down, and should cruise to victory here, advancing to the Semi-Finals here in Bastad.

Andy T's Free Pick: Casper Ruud to win in straight sets

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Andy T

Andy is a former player and huge tennis fan. He has a wealth of experience on the tennis circuit and uses it to make the best picks available.

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