It will be a virtual quarterfinal contest at the Nitto ATP Finals when Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud battle for second place in Group A on Friday.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has already clinched the win in his round-robin quartet with straight-set victories over Ruud and Rublev. Each of the latter two competitors is 1-1. Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas withdrew from Turin after losing to Rublev and alternate Cameron Norrie saw his semifinal hopes come to an end with a setback against Ruud.
The result is a high-stakes showdown for what will be the fifth career contest between Rublev and Ruud. All four of their previous encounters have gone the Russian’s way and he is 8-1 in total sets. In fact, Rublev has taken eight sets in a row at the 22-year-old’s expense since dropping their first-ever set at the 2019 Hamburg tournament. They most recently faced each other on the red clay of Monte-Carlo this spring, when Rublev got the job done 6-3, 7-5.
A 0-3 record on clay against the world No. 5 is especially alarming for Ruud since he is a borderline clay-court specialist. That being said, he has enjoyed an impressive fall on hard courts (a title in San Diego, quarterfinals in Vienna and Paris, and a fourth-round effort in Indian Wells) and he is looking comfortable enough on the lightning-fast surface in Turin. The world No. 8 pushed Djokovic to a tiebreaker and then recovered from a slow start to beat Norrie 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The jury is still out on Rublev this week. He cruised past a hobbled Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 before getting blown out by Djokovic 6-3, 6-2.
Although Rublev is not in peak form like he was throughout 2021 and earlier this season, you have to like his chances on Friday. He owns this matchup with Ruud and the quick conditions give him an additional advantage. Rublev’s forehand is even bigger than Ruud’s and his serve is superior, as well.
Pick: Rublev in 3
WWW?