French Open 2023 Men's Final: Novak Djokovic vs. Casper Ruud Predictions

Novak Djokovic will try to set a new record for most men's Grand Slam titles on a surface that has been the least kind to him throughout his career.

Djokovic faces Casper Ruud in Sunday's 2023 French Open men's singles final. The Serbian is looking for his third title at Roland Garros.

Djokovic enters Sunday with 22 major championships. He is tied with Rafael Nadal, who produced 14 of his 22 major titles in Paris.

Ruud is in search of his first Grand Slam crown in his third attempt in a final. He lost to Nadal in last year's French Open final and fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2022 U.S. Open title match.

The fourth-seeded Norwegian is an exceptional clay-court player, but he should be the underdog against the 22-time major champion.

Prediction

Novak Djokovic over Casper Ruud in four sets

Djokovic comes into Sunday less tired than he may have been if Alcaraz pushed him to the limits in Friday's semifinal.

Djokovic preserved some energy on court with easy victories in the third and fourth sets as Alcaraz dealt with cramping.

That should help the No. 3 seed deal with the challenge presented by Ruud, who has proven to be one of the top clay-court players on the ATP Tour.

Nine of Ruud's 10 professional titles have come on clay courts. He displayed his mastery of the surface throughout the French Open, as he was never pushed to a fifth set in six matches and won three times in straight sets, including in the semifinal against Alexander Zverev.

However, Ruud is at a disadvantage in the head-to-head battle with Djokovic.

Djokovic owns a 4-0 career record against Ruud, and two of those victories came on the clay court in Rome, which is one of the top tune-up events for Roland Garros.

Djokovic has never lost a set to Ruud. Three of the four matches they played were either semifinal or final contests on the ATP Tour.

Ruud's championship chances go down even more when you consider he was swept by Nadal in last year's final. He did not win a game in the third set as the Spaniard closed out his 22nd major title.

Djokovic should win the match, but he could be vulnerable to drop one set against Ruud.

The 22-time major winner went to four sets in each of the last two rounds and was pushed to a tiebreak on four occasions in his first three matches.

He is not playing flawless tennis, but Djokovic does carry plenty more experience than Ruud on this stage, and he knows what it takes to win, even if he drops a set.

Ruud is capable of winning a set, and even producing a fight in other sets, but until he proves he can beat Djokovic or Nadal in a major final, he has to be viewed as a significant underdog.