Top two seeds Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev will be back in action in Rotterdam as the last quarterfinal spots are determined. Tsitsipas is facing Ilya Ivashka, while Rublev’s title defense continues against Soonwoo Kwon.
(1) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Ilya Ivashka
Tsitispas is the No. 1 seed at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, but things aren’t shaping up for it to be a routine week at the office. The fourth-ranked Greek’s opener came against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and he survived it 7-5, 6-7(1), 6-4 after two hours and 39 minutes. How he faces Ivashka, who was one of the breakout stars on tour last summer. The 48th-ranked Belarusian hasn’t been playing as well so far in 2022 in part due to injury, but he picked up his first win of the year by beating Lloyd Harris 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday.
Of course, Tsitsipas has been dealing with his own injury issues this season. The 23-year-old struggled with offseason elbow trouble and was unable to handle a full workload at the ATP Cup, but he made a run to the Australian Open semifinals before falling to Daniil Medvedev. With his confidence restored and a tough match in Rotterdam already under his belt, Tsitsipas should not have too much trouble on Thursday.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 2
Soonwoo Kwon vs. (2) Andrey Rublev
Rublev and Kwon will also be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Thursday. The seventh-ranked Russian hopes to resume his dominance at the ATP 500 level that dates back to late 2021 and early 2022. That run included a title in Rotterdam, where he defeated Tsitsipas in the semis and Marton Fucsovics in the final. Rublev’s defense of the trophy began with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Henri Laaksonen on Tuesday.
With Kwon’s 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Hugo Gaston on Wednesday, he has now advanced one round in all five of his tournaments this year. Unfortunately for the 35rd-ranked South Korean, he has yet to advance two. This round has been his Waterloo, and it only gets tougher in the form of Rublev. Count on Rotterdam’s second seed getting the job done with relative ease.
Pick: Rublev in 2
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