The battle between David and Goliath. Ruud has a chance for a first success with Djokovic in Monte Carlo

The semi-final in Monte Carlo brings a duel between Casper Ruud and Novak Djokovic. Although the Norwegian tennis player feels like an outsider, he definitely has a good chance to beat the favoured Serb. Why?

Ruud and his rise this year

Casper Ruud has gone through a performance slump, but this year has marked a noticeable improvement for him. It started in February.

The Norwegian tennis player made his way to the final of the tournament twice. It happened on North American soil in Los Cabos and Acapulco.

The fact that he is at home on clay is confirmed at the current event in Monte Carlo. He has lost only one set so far in the opening Masters clay court part of the season and he also defeated the winner of the previous tournament, Poland’s Hurkacz.

In the semi-finals he will face the ultimate challenge, playing Novak Djokovic. And he’s not overestimating his ambitions. “It‘s going to be a bit of a David and Goliath battle,” he says of Saturday’s semi-final.

The match with Djokovic

Novak Djokovic has not excelled so far this year by his standards. But he certainly hasn’t disappointed in Monte Carlo so far.

He beat Safiullina, Musetti and De Minaur without losing a set. The last two matches have been a successful rematch for Djokovic for earlier defeats.

The legendary Serbian’s previous record against Ruud also plays in his favour. He beat him in all eleven sets they played together.

On the other hand, Djokovic was clearly not at his physical best in the past matches under the hot Mediterranean sun. The quarter-final with De Minaur was not of a high standard, according to himself.

Ruud, on the other hand, has been playing very well in recent weeks and clay is his number one choice. He won’t be the favourite against Djokovic, but his chances here are not negligible. After all, the result of the duel between David and Goliath also speaks in his favour.

Sources: ATP, Eurosport