Casper Ruud vs. Cameron Norrie
| Ruud Odds | -160 |
| Norrie Odds | +130 |
| Over/Under | 23.5 |
| Time | Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET |
| Head-to-Head Record: 1-0 Ruud | |
| Odds via PointsBet. For tips on watching tennis, click here. | |
After the withdrawal of Stefanos Tsitsipas from the ATP Finals due to injury, Casper Ruud will play his second group stage matchup against Cameron Norrie, who enjoyed a stellar end to the season.
A win for Norrie would give the British No. 1 a chance to sneak into the semifinals, but it would likely require a straight-sets win, a win over Novak Djokovic and some help from his group-mates.
Ruud is in need of a win after an opening-round loss to Djokovic and two wins in his final two group stages matches (the second against Andrey Rublev) would all but provide him qualification into the semifinals.
Here are some key factors and aspects of the matchup to consider before making your bet on the unique situation.
Ruud a True Hard Court Player
The Norwegian came into the season known as a clay court specialist that couldn't survive on other surfaces, and that wasn't too far off. Ruud had a losing record on hard courts over the past two years, and his first four titles of the year in 2021 came on clay.
But the script on Ruud has changed significantly since the period following the US Open, as he's developed his hard court game to be able to compete with some of the best players in the world, a massive achievement.
Ruud was able to win the San Diego Open, where he beat Norrie in the final in astonishing 6-2 6-0 fashion, and he's had consistent results since then, leading up to a quality performance against Djokovic on Monday in which he pushed the in-form world number one to a tiebreaker in the first set.
The newfound top 10 player is showing that his ascension in the rankings is no accident, and he'll be eager to seize upon his chance to put himself in a do-or-die matchup with Rublev.
Norrie Getting Deserved Shot at Year-End Finals
While the withdrawals of Matteo Berrettini and Tsitsipas from the ATP Finals have been quite unfortunate, the silver lining is that they've given opportunities to players who deserve a chance at the event.
Jannik Sinner dominated Hubert Hurkacz yesterday after replacing his fellow Italian, and Norrie will get a similar chance today to show that he belongs.
Norrie ended his season in impressive fashion, reaching the finals of the San Diego Open, winning the Indian Wells Masters and winning three combined matches in Vienna and Paris, so it's no surprise to see him in this position.
Though he wasn't able to qualify directly, there aren't many people who will argue that Norrie isn't a rightful alternate in this situation.
Betting Pick
Pricing Ruud this low doesn't really make sense to me at all. After a solid first round performance against an other-worldly player, I would've expected to see Ruud far closer to -250 against a player that didn't even know he was going to play until today.
Ruud is playing lights out tennis and his forehand is by far the biggest weapon on the court in this matchup. He was able to hit nine aces against the best returner of all time in Djokovic, and there have to be questions about how Norrie will fare in this matchup.
Back Ruud to get the job done and put himself in a position to advance to the semifinals.
Pick: Casper Ruud -1.5 (-125)
