Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas returns a ball to Spain's Alejandro Davidovich during the 49th edition of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Ahoy, Rotterdam on February 7, 2022. - - Netherlands OUT (Photo by Sander Koning / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by SANDER KONING/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev will lock horns in what is a virtual quarter-final clash in the ATP Finals in Turin on Friday.
The 24-year-old faced his kryptonite Daniil Medvedev in his opening encounter in Turin. Tsitsipas went down for the ninth consecutive time to the Serbian legend. He won 58 points compared to Djokovic’s 66. The win percentage on the first serve was the same for both players – 80% but there was a stark difference in the win percentage on the second serve. Djokovic had a win percentage of 87 on the second serve while Tsitsipas had a win percentage of just 56. The match ended in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in favor of the 21-time Grand Slam champion.
The second-seeded Tsitsipas had to win his next match against Daniil Medvedev to stay afloat in the competition. The two rivals went hammer and tongs and played a thriller. Tsitsipas edged the encounter 6-3, 6-7 (11-13), 7-6 (7-1) and knocked Medvedev out of the competition. The former won 106 points compared to 98 for the latter.
The sixth-seeded Rublev began his campaign with a hard-fought win against Daniil Medvedev. Rublev came back from a set down to defeat Medvedev 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 7-6 (9-7). The 25-year-old had to withstand a barrage of aces from Medvedev, who fired in 24 untouchable serves. Medvedev, however, committed 6 double faults and that helped Rublev’s cause.
In his second match, Rublev was no match for the former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The Serbian legend convincingly won the match 6-4, 6-1 to book his ticket to the semis. Rublev had a win percentage of just 65 on the first serve and he will have to improve that number handsomely if he has to make it beyond the group stage.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 6-4 in favor of Tsitsipas. He won their previous encounter at the 2022 Astana Open in three sets.
Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win in three sets.
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