Barcelona 2023: Bublik vs Ruusuvuori Tennis Prediction and Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Barcelona Open first-round match featuring Alexander Bublik vs Emil Ruusuvuori on Monday, April 17, 2023.

Bublik vs Ruusuvuori Match Preview and Prediction

It’s a rematch from last year’s Barcelona Open as Alexander Bublik takes on hard-hitting Finn Emil Ruusuvuori. Who will prevail?

Alexander Bublik gave a good account of himself at the Monte-Carlo Masters, running Alexander Zverev very close in their first-round clash, losing narrowly in three sets. Bublik’s unorthodox style sort of unsettled Zverev for a set, but ran out of ideas in the end. He’ll need to employ similar tactics at the Barcelona Open as he looks to avenge last year’s loss at this same tournament against Emil Ruusuvuori.

Emil Ruusuvuori, for his part, entered the Monte Carlo draw as a lucky loser this past week, but was soundly beaten by Jiri Lehecka in the first round. Ruusuvuori is probably more at advantage coming to the Barcelona Open, having accumulated two more matches on the clay playing qualies in Monaco. Let’s see if that aids his cause against Alexander Bublik.

Bublik vs Ruusuvuori Prediction and Pick

Emil Ruusuvuori leads Alexander Bublik 2-1 in their head-to-head. Outside their meeting at the Barcelona Open last year, their two matches at Winston-Salem and Metz have been tight affairs. I expect Bublik to be super pumped for this one on the back of his great performance against Zverev in Monte Carlo. Ruusuvuori is marginally the consistent ball striker of the two which is why I think we are unlikely to see an upset here. But we feel the Bublik set handicap is probably the safest pick to oppose the Finn.