It’s an all-Russian showdown for match one of round-robin play in the Red Group as Daniil Medvedev faces countryman Andrey Rublev in Turin on Monday.
Daniil Medvedev has traditionally been a tricky matchup for Andrey Rublev. The two friends and occasional Davis Cup teammates have met five times. World No. 7 Rublev lost the first four but managed to come away with the win in their last encounter last year on the hard courts of Cincinnati. In fact, until their last match Rublev hadn’t even won a set from his countryman.
Rublev has produced another prolific season, although his Grand Slam results were less impressive than his ranking or four tournament titles would suggest. He had a couple quarterfinal showings at the French Open and U.S. Open but endured a disappointing third-round loss at the Australian Open and was barred from playing Wimbledon due to the All-England Club’s stance on Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.
Medvedev has won just two titles this year, but his consistency and general performance at slams kept him at No. 5 in the world. He was also included in the player ban at Wimbledon this year. Medvedev just won the event in Vienna a few weeks ago, when he beat an in-form Denis Shapovalov for the title.
For most of their matchup history, Rublev has seemed to be intimidated by Medvedev on court. Medvedev just bullied his countryman around the baseline with his fierce backhand and Rublev surrendered in straight sets. Despite Rublev’s breakthrough in Cincinnati last year, Monday’s match could be more of the same as their previous encounters.
Medvedev is playing well, and since he lost in his first match Paris he should be well-rested for Turin.
Cheryl pick: Medvedev in 2
Ricky pick: Medvedev in 2
WWW?
Med in 2.
Did you miss out of the money bet again?
Did you follow what everyone else thinks again?
Not to worry, there should be another 1.10 chance coming up soon that will pay off.
Also, there’s no evidence that because a player has beaten another player in the past that it will continue to happen in the future. It happens with certain matchups because some players are simply better and are playing better each time they met and that’s why they have a 90% win record against an opponent.
Sorry “each time they meet”