Barcelona Open: Tiafoe vs Ruusuvuori Tennis Prediction and Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Barcelona Open second-round match featuring Frances Tiafoe vs Emil Ruusuvuori on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

Tiafoe vs Ruusuvuori Match Preview and Prediction

Frances Tiafoe will play for the first time since clinching the Houston title. He faces hard-hitting Finn Emil Ruusuvuori at the Barcelona Open. Who will prevail?

Frances Tiafoe won the chaotic Houston Open over a week ago. With significant rain delays, it meant most players adhered to a makeshift schedule having to play multiple matches across two days to conclude the tournament. And it was Tiafoe who had the legs to content with the jam-packed schedule and player the best tennis under pressure to walk away with his second career title. He didn’t get to play in Monte Carlo and only traveled there to have a few practice sessions to prepare for the Barcelona Open.

Emil Ruusuvuori won his opening match at the 2023 Barcelona Open in devastating fashion. He swept aside Alexander Bublik 6-0, 6-3 sending a warning signal he will be ready for the challenge on Tuesday. His best result on clay remains the runner-up finish at the Augusburg Challenger in 2019, so it’s surface he doesn’t have plenty of fond memories to draw upon. Can Frances Tiafoe avoid the upset then?

Tiafoe vs Ruusuvuori Prediction and Pick

Emil Ruusuvuori leads Frances Tiafoe 2-0 in their head-to-head, with both matches contested on hard courts. Their last meeting in Stockholm was indoors and it came on the back of a finalist appearance in Tokyo where Tiafoe lost to Taylor Fritz. He made the wrong choice to play in that tournament and looked bereft of ideas from the get-go. You can draw some parallels from that match. Tiafoe comes in after a brutal title run in Houston. However, the break helps to recharge and overcome any niggles in his body, and should be in fine spirits after bagging his second ATP title. And the surface lessens Ruusuvuori’s chances of an upset. I’d take Tiafoe at -139 ML.