Ice vs Fire at Foro Italico on Super Saturday!
World No. 7 Casper Ruud faces Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the 2025 Internazionali BNL d’Italia Round of 64 on Saturday. Ruud lost in this stage last year at the Italian Open to Miomir Kecmanovic. On the other hand, Bublik also lost his Round-2 encounter in 2024 to Nuno Borges of Portugal. The 27-year-old defeated Roman Safiullin 6-3 7-6(4) in the first round on Thursday.
The 2025 Madrid Open champion, Ruud comes into this clash with a 9-2 clay court record this year. He has won over 80% service games on this surface. In comparison, Bublik has amassed a mere 68% service win percentage on clay and 32% break point conversion. While Ruud has won one title and reached another final in 2025, Bublik’s solitary summit clash happened to be on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Ruud has a superior 6-1 record against Alexander Bublik so far. Saturday’s Round of 64 battle will be their third meeting on outdoor clay courts.
Ruud and Bublik stood across the net for the first time six years ago – at St. Petersburg in 2019. The Norwegian dropped the first set before finding some impeccable range on his forehand. Sascha’s only win in this duel was during the Davis Cup Qualifier between Norway and Kazakhstan in 2022. The duo has not faced one another in over a year and a half.
| Event | Round | Winner | Score |
| 2023 Basel | Round of 32 | Casper Ruud | 7-6(5) 6-2 |
| 2023 Rome | Round of 32 | Casper Ruud | 6-1 4-6 7-6(0) |
| 2022 Miami | Round of 32 | Casper Ruud | 6-3 6-2 |
| 2022 Davis Cup | Round Robin | Alexander Bublik | 6-4 5-7 6-4 |
| 2021 Paris | Round of 32 | Casper Ruud | 6-4 6-0 |
| 2021 Madrid | Quarterfinal | Casper Ruud | 7-5 6-1 |
| 2019 St. Petersburg | Round of 32 | Casper Ruud | 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2 |
| Casper Ruud | Category | Alexander Bublik |
| 0 | Grand Slams | 0 |
| 13 | ATP Singles Titles | 4 |
| 0 | ATP Doubles Titles | 0 |
| 1 | Masters-1000 Titles | 0 |
| 1 | ATP-500 Titles | 1 |
| QF (Paris 2024) | Olympics Best Performance | R1 (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024) |
| No. 7 | Current World Ranking | No. 76 |
In terms of mindset and attitude on the court, the two starlets showcase stark contrasts. While the former is very level-headed and compact in his approach, the latter is more vocal and extravagant. On his day, the 6’5” giant can pose a threat to any top player – courtesy his booming serve and trick shots. However, our prediction is that the in-form three-time Grand Slam finalist will pepper the Bublik backhand and force the errors to emerge victorious.
Prediction: Casper Ruud in straight sets.
As expected, the higher ranked player is a strong favourite in the money line market, and is touted to move into Round-3 with a straight sets win. However, a 2-1 victory for the Norwegian is also emerging as a favourable betting tactic for Saturday’s match-up.
Casper Ruud Win: -625
Alexander Bublik Win: +400
(According to BetMGM)
