It has not been a consistent year–not even close–for Andrey Rublev, but he has already captured one Masters 1000 title from completely out of nowhere.
He just might win another one.
Rublev earned a spot in the semifinals of the rain-delayed National Bank Open by beating both Brandon Nakashima and Jannik Sinner on Saturday. The world No. 8 erased Nakashima 6-2, 6-2 during third-round action before upsetting Sinner 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals later in the evening. Sinner, who appeared to be dealing with a right-hip issue, exited after one hour and 47 minutes.
Rublev previously triumphed at a 1000-point event this spring in Madrid. The Russian went into that tournament with a horrendous 1-5 record in his last six matches, including an infamous default in Dubai. Rublev was 4-6 in his last 10 matches heading into Montreal.
Nonetheless, it once again appears to be all turning around for the 26-year-old–who has also advanced this week with a straight-set victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Rublev will go up against either Matteo Arnaldi or Kei Nishikori on Sunday.
Because of a non-stop downpour that cancelled play on Friday, the bottom half of the draw is still in the quarterfinals. Alexander Zverev will face Sebastian Korda and Hubert Hurkacz will meet Alexei Popyrin.
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nice one, Andrey
Sinner needs to look after his body first and foremost. There’s more to life than tennis.