Andrey Rublev does not have an easy path to another St. Petersburg title, as the defending champion has to go up against Botic Van de Zandschulp on Friday. Familiar foes Denis Shapovalov and Jan-Lennard Struff are also facing each other in the quarterfinals.
(1) Andrey Rublev vs. (Q) Botic Van de Zandschulp
Rublev and Van de Zandschulp will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in the St. Petersburg Open quarterfinals on Friday. Their only previous meeting came four years ago on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam, where Van de Zandschulp prevailed 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in qualifying. It has already been a stellar week in St. Petersburg for Van de Zandschulp, who once again played his way through qualifying. He did the same at every one of the four Grand Slams in 2021, even making it all the way to the U.S. Open quarters as a qualifier. So far this week the 69th-ranked Dutchman has disposed of Marc Polmans, Evgeny Donskoy, Yoshihito Nishioka, and Sebastian Korda.
Of course, Rublev represents a steep step up in competition. The sixth-ranked Russian isn’t quite as on fire right now was he was in 2020 and earlier in 2021, but he is certainly playing well enough to be the heavy title favorite this week. Rublev won this event last year when it was worth 500 points (currently 250) and he kicked off his title defense with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over an in-form Ilya Ivasha. This should be a fun one, but Rublev has a clear edge at home.
Pick: Rublev in 2
Jan-Lennard Struff vs. (2) Denis Shapovalov
Surprisingly, Shapovalov and Stuff have already squared off six times heading into Friday. Struff leads the head-to-head series 4-2, although Shapovalov has won two of their three hard-court encounters after most recently prevailing in Dubai earlier this year. The 13th-ranked Canadian reached the Wimbledon semis this summer, but he has slumped ever since. Even after beating Pablo Andujar 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Tuesday, Shapovalov is just 5-8 in his last 13 matches.
Struff is also hoping to restore some confidence this week, and that is exactly what he appears to be doing. The 53rd-ranked German had not won multiple matches at any tournament since the French Open, but he booked his spot in the last eight in St. Petersburg by beating James Duckworth and Alexander Bublik in easy straight sets. With Struff looking good and obviously comfortable in this particular matchup based on past results, another minor upset could be in the cards.
Pick: Struff in 3
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