It has been a dream week in Cincinnati for Andrey Rublev and Yoshihito Nishioka, who will be part of the quarterfinal lineup on Friday. Rublev hopes to pull off another upset at Daniil Medvedev’s expense, while Nishioka is going up against David Goffin.
(9) Daniil Medvedev vs. (Q) Andrey Rublev
It will be an all-Russian affair when Medvedev and Rublev go head-to-head for the second time in their careers in the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals on Thursday. Medvedev’s presence is no surprise, but Rublev being a quarterfinalist at a Masters 1000 event–in Roger Federer’s section of the draw, no less–is completely unexpected. That is not to say that the world No. 70 has been hopeless this summer; far from it. Now recovered from various injuries, Rublev finished runner-up at the 500-point event in Hamburg. He qualified this past weekend in Cincinnati, avenged his Hamburg final loss to Nikoloz Basilashvili, upset Stan Wawrinka, and then stunned Federer 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday afternoon.
Medvedev, who won their only previous encounter 6-3, 6-2 and the 2016 Budapest Challenger, has been on fire just about from start to finish in 2019. The 23-year-old’s outstanding 41-16 record has him up to a career-high ranking of No. 8 in the world. His hard-court summer already includes runner-up finishes in Washington, D.C. and Montreal followed by Cincinnati beatdowns of Kyle Edmund, Benoit Paire, and Jan-Lennard Struff. Medvedev’s 6-2, 6-1 whitewash of Struff in one hour and five minutes should refuel his gas tank and help him beat an opponent making a quick turnaround on the heels of an emotional result.
Pick: Medvedev in 2
[polldaddy poll=10386654]
Yoshihito Nishioka vs. (16) David Goffin
Nishioka’s Jordan Thompson-Kei Nishikori-Alex de Minaur run is not quite as impressive as Rublev’s, but it is still a dream week for the Japanese lefty. Like Rublev, Nishioka had to qualify just to get into the main draw–which he did successfully at the expense of John Millman and Joao Sousa. The world No. 77 is now an even 17-17 at the ATP level in 2019.
Up next for Nishioka on Friday is Goffin, whom he just outlasted 6-7(5), 7-2, 7-6(5) in the Washington, D.C. second round. Goffin has bounced back by beating Taylor Fritz, Guido Pella, and Adrian Mannarino, surrendering just one set to Fritz in the process. The 19th-ranked Belgian lost to Pella in straight sets last week in Montreal only to defeat the Argentine 6-1, 7-5 in Cincinnati–he he has almost always played well. He should be able to get revenge on Nishioka, too.
Pick: Goffin in 3
[polldaddy poll=10386652]
Leave a Reply