No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev will fight with Emil Ruusuvuori for a spot in the Astana quarterfinals on Thursday. Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz will take the court against Kazakhstan’s own Alexander Bublik, who won a roller-coaster first-round match.
(2) Daniil Medvedev vs. Emil Ruusuvuori
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev had a bit of a disappointing summer. The world No. 4 was unable to defend his U.S. Open title; he lost a hard-fought match in the round of 16 to Nick Kyrgios. After that he went 0-1 in Metz (lost to Stan Wawrinka), but he started off strong this week with a comprehensive win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Medvedev is looking to find his form again, so he should go into his second round match against Emil Ruusuvuori with plenty of incentive to perform well.
Ruusuvuori is ranked No. 53 in the world. He had a decent start to the season, but since the summer hard-court swing he hasn’t won more than a match or two at a time. His 2022 record is a decent 30-26 and he earned his spot in the second round with a solid win over Sofia champion Marc-Andrea Huesler.
This will be the first meeting between Medvedev and Ruusuvuori and the Russian is heavily favored. He is one of the best hard-court players in the world and while he hasn’t been in fantastic form for the past month, he should have enough to slip past Ruusuvuori.
Cheryl pick: Medvedev in 2
Ricky pick: Medvedev in 2
(7) Hubert Hurkacz vs. Alexander Bublik
Hubert Hurkacz is a familiar foe for the hometown favorite Alexander Bublik. The two men already met in 2022 back in the winter in Dubai, where Hurkacz gave Bublik a 6-3, 6-1 shellacking. The Pole also won in straight sets in their 2021 Wimbledon encounter. Bublik snagged his single win over Hurkacz in Dubai in 2020.
Hurkacz is a player who has traditionally run hot and cold. He often either gets to the business end of the tournament or loses right away. Last month Hurkacz made the semifinals in Metz but bowed out of the U.S. Open in the second round. He had a straight set win over Francisco Cerundolo to earn his second-round berth in Astana
Bublik comes into his home tournament off a run to the final in Metz two weeks ago, but he didn’t face anyone nearly as high ranked as Hurkacz. Although Bublik will get a boost from the crowd, it’s doubtful the world No. 43 will have enough to get past Hurkacz.
Cheryl pick: Hurkacz in 3
Ricky pick: Hurkacz in 2
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