Italian Open Men’s Final Prediction: Sinner To Continue Unprecedented Era Of Domination

William Hill News tipster Sam Cox previews Sunday’s Italian Open final, with Jannik Sinner the red hot favourite to defeat Casper Ruud in Rome.

Jannik Sinner is aiming to make history by becoming the first man to win the first five Masters events of the year. Success over Casper Ruud on Sunday would see Sinner win six consecutive ATP 1000 events, dating back to the end of last year.

Jannik Sinner v Casper Ruud Odds:

• Jannik Sinner – 1/9
• Casper Ruud – 11/2

Naturally, the Italian is the heavy tennis betting favourite, even after Ruud’s 6-1, 6-1 win over Luciano Darderi. Ruud has played some exceptional tennis, backing up a quarter-final showing in Madrid. This is the first final he’s made at the Italian Open, but he’s a three-time semifinalist.

Jannik Sinner v Casper Ruud Prediction:

• Jannik Sinner -6.5 games (2/1)

Sinner has won all four of his matches against Ruud. The Norwegian has won a total of four games across their last four sets. Ruud has never taken a set off Sinner.

Throughout the tournament, Ruud’s rhythm has been disrupted by the weather. He’s managed to get early breaks and convert that into winning sets, which has seen him topple several formidable opponents.

He’s realistic about the challenge he’s facing on Sunday, however.

Ruud said, “You have to think he is human too. Raising your level once is not going to be enough against this guy. You have to raise it two, three or four times and then see if you can hang with him from there.”

The underdog was also keen to turn over a new leaf after his previous struggles against Sinner. After describing last year’s meeting as getting ‘smoked’, Ruud said, “Sunday is a new day, it’s a new tournament.”

How much does having to finish off his semi-final on Saturday impact Sinner? It’s not ideal, but the Italian is typically unflustered by such inconveniences. The extra rest should benefit Ruud, but it’s still hard to see how he keeps this even remotely competitive after their previous contests.

*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*