Djokovic or Ruud? Here is my French Open final 2023 prediction. I am keen to hear your thoughts in the comments!

French Open Final 2023 Prediction

Can anyone in their right mind predict Ruud to win this match? This is his third chance at Grand Slam title after having lost finals to Nadal at the French Open last year or Alcaraz at the US Open last year. He is definitely a player who can play great tennis and is destined to achieve a GS title at some point. But on the other side of the net, we have arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, Novak Djokovic. The only thing you could potentially put against Novak’s chances in this match is that the stake of winning a record-breaking (on the men’s side, Serena also has 23) 23rd Grand Slam might be too much for his nerves. We saw an unexpected emotional breakdown from Novak in the US Open final 2021 against Daniil Medvedev, but it seems unlikely that this would happen here.

Most bookies give Djokovic 1.22 in decimal odds and Ruud 4.5 times the money. That puts Novak, unsurprisingly, as the overwhelming favorite to win.

The head-to-head is not very pretty for Ruud either:

Djokovic vs Ruud head-to-head

They have never played a five-set match and a few of the sets have been close, but as you can see, Novak is yet to have lost a set. That should boost his confidence while making the task feel more superhuman for Ruud.

So my prediction for this match is that Djokovic wins in four sets. I think Casper might take the first set as Novak might have a slow start at times, but once the Djokotrain starts going, there is no stopping it.

If Novak wins his 23rd grand slam and goes into the favorite to Wimbledon 2023, I have a hard time seeing Nadal catch up, especially with his current injury. Where will Djokovic end up with his Grand Slam title count? I think he will settle at 25. He might even win all four titles this year. At this point, it seems quite possible.

Who do you pick for the title and what do you think of Novak’s chances for the calendar slam in 2023?