Preview: Casper Ruud vs. Roman Safiullin - French Open prediction, form

In their second-ever meeting on tour, Casper Ruud and Roman Safiullin will square off for a place in the second round of the French Open.

A straight-sets 5-7 2-6 defeat to Mariano Navone saw the Norwegian exit the Geneva Open semi-finals, while Safiullin defeated Tom Gentzsch 6-3 6-7 6-4 to advance into the first round of this event.

Match preview

Playing on clay seems to be where Casper Ruud is at his very best, making several deep runs on that surface this year.

In 2026, the 27-year-old has made the quarter-finals or further in his last three singles events on that surface, but has yet to win on clay this year.

He is hoping this will be the year he can finally take that next step at Roland-Garros, having finished as runner-up in two of the previous three editions of this tournament, reaching the semi-finals in 2025.

Ruud has never lost a first-round match at the French Open on the singles side of things, while advancing beyond the opening round in his last 16 Grand Slam appearances.

On clay this year, he has won 71% of his first-serve points, while winning an impressive 86% of his service games overall on that surface.

He has also saved 57% of his break points on clay this year while converting a respectable 47% of them himself.

He had to work for it, but in the end, Roman Safiulin earned a place in the opening round of the French Open, hitting nine aces against his German counterpart on Friday.

As a result, he has advanced beyond the qualification stage of a major tournament for the first time all year, collecting a combined six break points in his two 2026 French Open qualifiers.

At this tournament so far, he has registered only three double faults, while boasting a first-serve percentages of 88% and 77% in his two qualifiers, respectively.

Meanwhile, he has only given up one break point in his two qualifying matches, while winning over 60% of his second serves in his two contests.

The Russian has lost three of his last four opening matches at major tournaments, only making it beyond this stage of the French Open once before in 2021.

It seems like a long time ago, but Safiulin previously reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2023, where he lost to Jannik Sinner in four sets.

Tournament so far

Roman Safiullin:

Qualifier: vs. Joel Schwarrzler 6-4 6-4

Qualifier: vs. Tom Gentzsch 6-3 6-7 6-4

Head To Head

ATP Masters Canada (2025) - Round of 64: Ruud wins 6-3 6-3

The only time these two met before was in Canada last year, when the Norwegian hit seven aces and won 73% of his first serves en route to victory

We say: Ruud to win in three sets

While Safiullin has shown that he can create an upset, Ruud thrives on this surface and still has the power and stamina to overcome his share of obstacles.