Tennis
2026-05-13 - Casper Ruud vs Karen Khachanov
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : ATP 1000 Rome Quarter Final
Wednesday 13th May 2026 - Scheduled 3pm
2pm (British Time)
Preview
The hopes of winning a Grand Slam title remain high for Casper Ruud and his team, and the French Open may be the one tournament where he has his best opportunity.
The performances on the clay courts have remained strong and Casper Ruud is having a very strong run in the Rome Masters, which is laying a solid foundation for what can be achieved in the French capital. Not only has Casper Ruud won all three matches in the tournament, but he has done so in very strong fashion and wins over the likes of Jiri Lehecka and Lorenzo Musetti will have given Ruud a huge amount of confidence.
Next up is a Quarter Final against Karen Khachanov, who has had a much more battling run into this Round of the tournament.
In the past the World Number 15 has proven to be a solid competitor on the clay courts, and Karen Khachanov has reached the Quarter Final at the French Open twice. There had been little form produced before the Rome Masters as Khachanov had lost three of four clay court matches played, but three wins in a row will have rebuilt the confidence and this is a dangerous player when at his best.
The serve can be a big weapon for Karen Khachanov and he will need to employ that shot at a high level to just contain the threat coming from the other side of the net.
Out of the two players, Casper Ruud has been the happier return player on this surface of the two players contesting this Quarter Final and that may put the World Number 25 in a position to win the match and cover the spread set.
That slightly superior returning has been the key to Casper Ruud winning two of the three previous matches played between the players, although the most recent was won by Karen Khachanov last year on a North American hard court in the build towards the US Open.
The one sole clay court meeting took place in Rome in 2020 and was won by Casper Ruud in a back and forth battle- that was a tournament played in September, rather than May, and the difference in the conditions has to be noted.
However, the performances over the last several days suggest Casper Ruud is still playing well enough to earn another clay court win over Karen Khachanov. The spread is going to be tougher to deal with, but Ruud has looked very good at this event and that kind of level may be high enough to cover this handicap line.
Prediction
Lay the games with the favourite in this one as Casper Ruud looks to continue his strong run in Rome on his best surface.
The Pick :
Casper Ruud 2-0 Karen Khachanov
