ATP tournament in Indian Wells, round of 16, Wednesday, 13.03.2024
Is the old generation playing against the new? A little bit, yes! Casper Ruud and Gael Monfils face each other in the round of 16 at the Masters in Indian Wells and the younger player knows: I haven’t automatically won this match!
Although the Norwegian is favored by our bookmakers, I would like to show in my Ruud Monfils betting tip why a small surprise could be in the air here.
I think the Frenchman is quite strong, and on a good day he can still cause problems for any opponent in the world. That’s why I’m going to tell you why a set win is a good bet
How does a top player like Casper Ruud rate this season so far? His 3rd round exit at the Australian Open quickly moved to the disappointing side and he is still without a title in mid-March.
Which needn’t have been the case, as he missed out on the trophy in both Los Cabos and Acapulco, losing finals against Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur. Or to put it another way: It’s getting better, but it’s not really running smoothly yet.
In Indian Wells, the Norwegian played his way into the round of 16 and has yet to drop a set in his first two matches. He started off with a 6-4, 7-6 win against Lukas Klein and had to put up quite a fight.
He was more confident against Arthur Fils, however, scoring a quick 6-2, 6-4. 87% of his points were won on his first serve and he didn’t give his opponent a single chance to break.
Ruud definitely showed a clear improvement on his first appearance, but will that be enough to put Gael Monfils in his place? After all, Ruud should know that he’s never really shown off here in Indian Wells.
Only once before 2024, three years ago, did he reach the round of 16, so a win on Wednesday would be the best result he has ever achieved at the first Masters of the year.
What about duels against the same Monfils? There was one, but it was played in 2018. It should therefore no longer have any meaningful value, as Monfils had prevailed in three sets on clay back then
For our betting providers, this result should not matter either, as they see Casper Ruud as the clear favorite
Gael Monfils will certainly be happy with odds of 3.00, because: He has defied the role of underdog several times in Indian Wells! His 6-1, 6-2 win over Max Purcell was to be expected, but then he really got going.
He won the first set against Hubert Hurkacz 6-0 and won over the crowd. Although he narrowly lost the following tie-break, he hit back straight away and took the final 6-2
The Frenchman capitalized on seven of his 13 break chances, but later on he did indeed let off more steam against Cameron Norrie. It was to go to three sets again, but they were characterized by much more intensity!
6-7, 7-6, 6-3, it doesn’t get much tighter than that! Monfils was very lucky that his opponent was only able to use three of 21 break chances and that his own twelve double faults went unpunished.
Will Monfils now manage to reach the round of the best eight for the first time since 2019? He might not meet German tournament hopeful Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals
Monfils or Ruud, depending on who progresses in the end, will have to face the winner of the match between Tommy Paul and Luca Nardi.
My Ruud Monfils tip
Casper Ruud is the favorite against Gael Monfils, which I can basically understand after my analysis. But: the Frenchman is unpredictable, plays combative, somewhat wild and always on the verge of spectacle.
If you can win a set against Hubert Hurkacz 6-0, and then win three sets against the Pole and Cameron Norrie, you can also be a threat to Casper Ruud! That’s why I advise against an outright result and bet:
Monfils wins at least one set against Ruud!
