Ricky’s pick for the Barcelona final: Ruud vs. Tsitsipas

Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers and in a second consecutive title match when they meet again on Sunday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

They also faced each other in the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final exactly one week ago, when Tsitsipas rolled 6-1, 6-4. That made their head-to-head series 2-2 overall, 1-1 on clay, and 1-1 this season. Ruud previously got the job done 6-4, 7-6(4) in the Los Cabos semis earlier in 2024 and 7-6(5), 6-4 at the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open.

Following his Monte-Carlo heroics, Tsitsipas has gotten right back in gear in Barcelona. But it hasn’t been easy. After getting past Sebastian Ofner and Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets, the seventh-ranked Greek required third-set tiebreaker against Facundo Diaz Acosta (saved two match points) and also went three against Dusan Lajovic in the semis. It would be fair to say that Tsitsipas did not look particularly fresh in either match.

Ruud, on the other hand, has absolutely cruised in the Spanish capital. The sixth-ranked Norwegian did not drop a set en route to the title match, disposing of Alexandre Muller, Jordan Thompson, Matteo Arnaldi, and Tomas Martin Etcheverry. It’s also worth noting that he upset Novak Djokovic last week in Monte-Carlo.

Despite failing to be competitive against Tsitsipas in Monte-Carlo, Ruud has been by far the best player throughout this Barcelona event and looks poised for revenge.

Pick: Ruud in 3

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.