There is one final game left on the men’s side of the draw for the 2022 French Open and SportsTips.com are previewing the championship game. Read below to check out our tennis picks for the men’s final!
We are now into the final at the French Open and boy this game is going to be a cracker! It will be a contrast of two different players in this clash. One has all the experience in the world and knows exactly what it takes to win, the other has never made it to the final of a Grand Slam event before. Who will prevail in the end – experience or youth? We will soon find out!
Enjoy our free tennis picks and predictions for each round of the 2022 French Open tournament.
Rafael Nadal (5) vs Casper Ruud (8)
This is it, Rafael Nadal will clash with Casper Ruud for the right to lift the French Open trophy at the end of the match. Nadal had a fairly eventful semifinal, after winning the first set tiebreak against Zverev, the second set was about to go to another tiebreak, but the German had to retire due to an awful ankle injury. In the semis, Ruud put an end to the dream run by veteran Čilić, winning in four sets.
Marko Nadin
One of the most viral photos in the sports world in the last 24 hours is of 17-year-old Casper Ruud’s photo with his role model Rafael Nadal at the tennis academy in Spain. Only six years later, the Norwegian will have a chance to face off against his idol at the French Open final. Rafael Nadal is going after the 14th Roland Garros title in his career and 22nd Grand Slam title which will put him two titles ahead of his rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on top of the list. Nadal is coming off a three-hour semifinal battle against Alexander Zverev which finished in the second set at 7-6, 6-6 for Nadal, as Zverev twisted his ankle and had to withdraw from the match. Previously Nadal defeated his greatest rival Novak Djokovic in 4 sets, Felix Auger-Aliassime was the only one who pushed him to the limit and won two sets against Nadal. In the opening three rounds, Nadal defeated Jordan Thompson, Corentin Moutet and Botic Van De Zandschulp in straight sets. Nadal is currently fifth in the ATP rankings and has a 29-3 record for the season including 9-2 on clay.
Casper Ruud has made it to his first career Grand Slam final after a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over Marin Cilic in the semifinals. On his way to the final, Ruud also defeated Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz, Lorenzo Sonego, Emil Ruusuvuori and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The 23-year-old is currently 8th in the ATP rankings and has a 30-9 record for the year including 21-5 on clay. This will be the first time Nadal and Ruud play each other and the Spaniard will win this one easily in straight sets.
Marko’s French Open Pick: Set Betting – Nadal 3-0 (+120)
Jack Hartman
Rafael Nadal is just one step away from creating even more history. The Spaniard who stands alone at the top of the Grand Slam rankings has the opportunity to win his 22nd Grand Slam title and a 14th French Open crown. Standing in the Spaniard’s way is Norway’s Casper Ruud. Ruud is his country’s ever Grand Slam finalist. Outside of both Nadal and Djokovic, Ruud has arguably been one of the best clay-court players in recent times. This will be the first time that the two would have ever faced off against one another. Forced to miss Monte Carlo with a nagging foot injury, Nadal lost in the quarterfinals of Madrid and the third round in Rome. For the first time in his career, he arrived in Paris with real questions to answer. Nadal has quickly put those questions to bed. Make no mistake about it, Nadal’s route to the final has been as hard as they come. Nadal had to showcase all of his battling qualities to overcome Felix Auger-Aliassime. At one stage it looked like Nadal would crash out to the Canadian but he found a way to get the win.
Nadal has had to earn his place in the final and although he will start the match as the heavy favorite. This will be another tough match. Before the tournament started Casper Ruud was certainly a dark horse in the draw. The number eight seed was drawn in the right half avoiding the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Alcaraz. It’s fair to say that Ruud has gotten better as the tournament has worn on. Like Nadal, Ruud has had to battle to get past the likes of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Lorenzo Sonego. Importantly for Ruud, he has improved as the tournament has gone on. Despite dropping sets in both the quarter and semifinals, Ruud has run out as a comfortable winner in each. Ruud’s run to his first-ever Grand Slam final has created history back home in Norway, as no Norwegian has ever advanced beyond a Grand Slam quarterfinal let alone win one. This has been a breakthrough year for Ruud who earlier this year reached his first Masters Final. He lost that day to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and he will be hoping to avoid a similar fate here.
Jack’s French Open Pick: Set Betting – Nadal 3-0 (+120)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
