French Open QF preview and prediction: Tsitsipas vs. Rublev

Tsitsipas Rublev
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For the second time in just over a week, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev will do battle on a clay court. Last week it was for the Hamburg title; this time one of them will earn a spot in the French Open semifinals.

(5) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (13) Andrey Rublev

This quarterfinal will only be the fourth meeting between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev…but for some reason it feels like they’ve been rivals for years. This is due in part to the fact that their most recent meeting was just last Sunday, and partly because the promise of many future meetings looms large on the horizon.

Tsitsipas has lost the duo’s last two meetings, including last week in Hamburg when he double-faulted on championship point. The world No. 6 also lost at last year’s U.S. Open in an entertaining and tight four-set thriller. His one win game during the NextGen finals in 2018.

Rublev has had an absolutely massive 2020. The Russian started his season with back-to-back titles in Doha and Adelaide. He didn’t fare quite as well at the Australian Open, where he lost in the fourth round to Alexander Zverev, but he picked right back up after the COVID hiatus with a quarterfinal showing in New York.

One thing that a Rublev-Tsitsipas meeting always delivers on is a competitive, match. Wednesday in Paris should be no different. The semifinals are on the line and both men are playing fantastic tennis. Tsitsipas cruised in his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov. Rublev had to work harder to get past Marton Fucsovics, but with a day’s rest he should be ready to go.

Cheryl pick: Tsitsipas in 5

Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 4

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32 Comments on French Open QF preview and prediction: Tsitsipas vs. Rublev

  1. Picking Tsitsipas, eh? Could be right.

    Rublev worked extremely hard during the COVID break…read it somewhere; can’t remember where right now. Rublev was an RG junior champion on clay. Or am I just making things up now?………sorry facepalm

    He is sure-footed on clay – and fast. Is he better than Stefano? I really don’t know. He sure is better on clay than Medvedev and Khachanov. yep.

    My guess: Rubles in five.

    • Think you’re right about the RG junior title. Tommy Paul was another. I picked Rublev in my bracket so I’ll stick with him in four tight sets

      • Thank you for backing me up, Big Al. I remember something about that RG junior title years ago when he was a skinny determined junior. He was always going to be the better Russian of the new lot on clay. But then I lost hope in him when he disappeared injured after his stint as a boy band singer. hahaha ….true story! Glad he has stayed the course with tennis.

        Dang, I missed doing the weekly bracket challenge again! I’m in need of some tennis bracket therapy 😀 I resolve to get my bracket habit back. Soon the much-anticipated election will be over. Things will never be back to normal but I can accept chaos (thinking optimistically to myself for a change)

        Woke up in time to watch Collins beat Jabeur – a wee bit sad here for Ons Jabeur, As expected, PCB won. Now if I can remain awake I’ll catch the Svitolina/Poderoska match and catch most of Thiem/Schwartzmann before my 10 am appointment.

        • Hi Elizabeth!!
          Lovely to see you!.
          I have left you a lot of messages on various threads including wta!
          So happy Petra is playing well..I never dare invest too much emotion in Petra though…too much heartbreak..
          Am very bummed that Rafa is playing so late..😠😠

          • Lovely to see you as well, Amy!

            LOL, thanks. Soon as I’m fully awake, I’ll go talk some WTA on that dusty old thread that I’m happy to see is still alive 😀

            Right, about Rafa/ Sinner playing so late, or in my case somewhere around noon when I’m out, I imagine. But if I get back in time I want to be home and watch it with you! Vamos Rafa!

  2. Hi Elizabeth!!
    Lovely to see you!.
    I have left you a lot of messages on various threads including wta!
    So happy Petra is playing well..I never dare invest too much emotion in Petra though…too much heartbreak..
    Am very bummed that Rafa is playing so late..😠😠

  3. well however wins this match is probably gonna face you know who in the semi final. At this point I don’t think either of them can beat Nole, can they?

  4. I’m just hoping tsitsipas wins this…atleast he has good coaches n advise in patrick n he will tell him what to do..plus tsitsipas has beaten the big 3 earlier..so don’t think he fears them

  5. Don’t understand why many pick Rublev to win here; he’s too one dimensional compared to Tsitsipas.

    I love how Tsitsipas changes things once he senses he’s not winning playing the same way. He’s able to solve problems on court making full use of the varieties he has in his game.

    Tsitsipas, if he wins here, I think he has good chances of beating his opponent in the SF. He can slice, spin, drop shot, varies the pace, going CC and DTL from both wings from the baseline, or rushes the net. His serve is good too and ROS is not bad; he moves fast and has good court coverage.

    As long as he concentrates and stays focus and not let his level drops too much during a match, he’s hard to beat.

  6. Yes Tsitsipas wins in straight sets, well done!

    Tsitsipas’ game really suits the clay court, because he can make use of the slower court to give himself time to think and varies his game plan during the match.

    I think Rublev’s game suits a quicker court, his power game is more difficult to defend against on the quicker courts.

  7. I felt Tsitsi was going to win , both had tough battles and Tsitsi was more used to the big matches. Hamburg could have gone either way and the pressure slightly more on Rublev to repeat over the distance. As well as Tsitsi having more variety .

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