It’s quarterfinal day in Monte-Carlo, with the red-hot Jannik Sinner running into Holger Rune and perennial clay-court contender Casper Ruud taking on Ugo Humbert. Rune beat Sinner last year in Monte-Carlo.
(2) Jannik Sinner vs. (7) Holger Rune
While this matchup lacks some of the hype that Jannik Sinner produces when he plays Carlos Alcaraz, it’s still an interesting one. Which is to say that Holger Rune still has a winning record over Sinner (2-1) and one of the Dane’s two wins over Sinner came in Monte-Carlo in the semifinals last year. The good news for the Italians and the fans that will undoubtedly be there to cheer him on is that he is currently the best player on tour. By a fair margin.
Sinner hasn’t been notably successful on clay yet. The 22 year old has a single clay title from Umag, but he’s had a few deep runs on the dirt, including in Monte-Carlo in 2023, so while he’s better on hard courts, he’s no clay court novice, either. Rune has been a bit off the boil this year. The Dane made the semis in Acapulco, but he’s title-less so far this year. Given their respective forms, Sinner has to be considered the favorite in this one, despite last year’s result.
Cheryl pick: Sinner in 2
Ricky pick: Sinner in 2
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(14) Ugo Humbert vs. (8) Casper Ruud
On a different surface, I would almost be tempted to lean towards Ugo Humbert in this matchup. The French player, who is having the season of his career, has a tidy 3-1 record over Ruud. The problem for Humbert is that he IS meeting Casper Ruud on clay. And of course, Ruud’s single win over the world No. 15 came on the clay courts of Hamburg.
As it stands, Ruud is simply a superior clay court player to Humbert in ever possible way and the Norwegian has been playing well on hard courts as well, so he’s just generally in good form at the moment. The crowd is likely to back Humbert, but that isn’t likely to make much of difference to the outcome in this one. Look for Ruud to get through this one comfortably.
Cheryl pick: Ruud in 2
Ricky pick: Ruud in 2
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WWW?
Ruud in 2
Sinner will likely win, but his opponent won’t go away easily.
Holger Rune was a tough guy taking on Nagal and Dimitrov; Holger won both matches in three sets. Rune will keep fighting 😀
Sinner or Rune in 3.
Sinner will definitely win because he’s playing on a higher level right now with just one lost to Alcaraz for the 2024 season. He also has the right motivation to revenge last year’s lost to Rune in addition to letting Djokovic know he’s coming for the top #1 spot!
Lastly Rune played one over 3
hour long match against
Dimitrov plus a partial on Thursday due to Wednesday’s rain delay so pushing through fatigue is gonna to be a
struggle! I’m here for all of it>
Rune gets a set, but Sinner in 3; and Casper in 3.
How’s the legs on Rune. Built like a brick shithouse. A Mr Olympia contender.