Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Andrey Rublev is turning into a bit of a rivalry and they will face each other again during round-robin action at the Nitto ATP Finals on Tuesday night.
They have already squared off twice since tennis returned from its coronavirus hiatus, and both matches came on big stages. Rublev triumphed 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the Hamburg final before Tsitsipas scored revenge with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 rout in the French Open quarters. The Russian leads the overall head-to-head series 3-2, although it is all tied up 2-2 at the ATP level.
Tsitsipas is the defending champion in London, but he does not have a ton of momentum behind him right now. The sixth-ranked Green followed up his Roland Garros semifinal run with a Vienna second-round loss to Grigor Dimitrov and an opening setback in Paris at the hands of Ugo Humbert. Tsitsipas’ losing streak hit three matches when he fell to Dominic Thiem 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 in the first match of this tournament.
Rublev is making his debut inside the O2 Arena, having clinched a Nitto ATP Finals in especially impressive fashion. The eighth-ranked Russian is an incredible 40-9 this season and leads the tour with five titles. However, he got a rude welcome in London from Rafael Nadal–who rolled 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday.
That is an understandable result, though, given that it was Rublev’s first-ever match at the event and came against the top seed in Group B. Tsitsipas may not be as tough of a test, in part because the 23-year-old has not been 100 percent physically since the French Open and didn’t sound overly confident following his loss to Thiem.
With a match under his belt, Rublev should raise his level to something like what was on display in Hamburg, Paris, St. Petersburg, and Vienna.
Pick: Rublev in 3
Yeah Rublev in three but it could be tight. Less pressure on him ,and he’s in better form right now.
They both lost already! I have no idea which one will be better tomorrow. Toss-up
It’s worth setting my DVR, I think.
It can go either way but the court speed is slow, so it will give a slight edge to Tsitsipas.
Rublev played better by the end of his first match but it was too late. I would have said Tsitsipas in 3, but if he lacks fitness and confidence I give the edge to Rublev.
Tsitsipas in the more complete player and should win a close match.