One of the most anticipated matches of ATP Montreal takes place at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday. The World No. 14 Casper Ruud will take on the rising star Joao Fonseca.
Here is my full preview of the Round of 32 match between Ruud and Fonseca at the 2026 Canadian Open.
Casper Ruud vs. Joao Fonseca Preview, Prediction
Casper Ruud Preview
The former No. 2 player in the world was never quite able to live up to his potential. It has been a middling past few years since Ruud emerged as one of the best players in the world. Between 2022 and 2023, he went on a run of making three out of five Grand Slam finals. He has not made it back to one since. Most recently, Ruud was knocked out of Wimbledon in the first round. It was his first time losing in the first round of a major since 2021.
Ruud has always played his best tennis on clay. He ended up having a solid 2026 clay season. He made the Italian Open final, the Madrid Open quarter-finals and the Geneva Open semi-finals. It even seemed like there was a strong path for Ruud to make a run at Roland-Garros with Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz all out of the way. That is until he lost in the fourth round to a young star out of Brazil, Fonseca.
Joao Fonseca Preview
It has been an amazing past two years for Fonseca as he looks to prove he is one of the next big things in the sport. He has already won two ATP titles at 19 years old, including one at the 500 level. He also made his first major quarter-final this year at Roland-Garros. That run included his epic five-set upset over Novak Djokovic, where Fonseca really announced his potential greatness to the world. Fonseca has not played since Wimbledon, but is hoping to round into form over the next few weeks to prepare for the US Open, where he was the junior champion in 2023.
Casper Ruud vs. Joao Fonseca Picks, Best Bets
My best bet is on Fonseca to get the win. He is a slight favorite on the Moneyline, but should be an even bigger one. These two have already played each other once this year, on the biggest possible stage and on Ruud’s preferred surface. However, Fonseca still handled him in four sets at Roland-Garros. Fonseca has played much more inspiring tennis this year and seems to be building towards something special. That is the player I want to back in a big match like this.
Best Bet: Joao Fonseca Moneyline (-120)
