No.5 seed Andrey Rublev will face compatriot Karen Khachanov in the Round of 16 at the Madrid Open

Karen Khachanov is having a good year and is coming into this encounter with his eyes set on glory. The Russian ace has been pretty consistent so far with semi-final appearances at the Australian Open and the Miami Open being the major highlights of his season. He is coming into this match following two hard-fought victories against Thiago Monteiro and Roberto Bautista Agut in his previous two rounds. Khachanov is seeded no.10 at the Madrid Open and he certainly has the ability to go all the way and clinch the title.

Andrey Rublev’s form coming into the match at Madrid Open

Andrey Rublev has been in sublime touch recently and is coming into this match following two convincing straight-sets victories. The Russian received a ‘Bye’ in his first round due to his superior ranking and defeated Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4 in his opening encounter of the tournament. He followed it up with a commendable 6-2, 7-5 win over No.28 seed Yoshihito Nishioka to set up a clash against his compatriot and good friend Karen Khachanov.

The World No.6 is in such good form that he made two ATP finals in April. He had an incredible title-winning campaign at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this month and followed it up with another successful campaign at the Srpska, where he fell just short in the final and finished runners-up. There is no doubt that Rublev is high on confidence after two immensely successful campaigns and he will be looking to capitalise on this positive momentum in Madrid.

Details:

Date – Tuesday, 2nd May

Court Type – Clay outdoor surface

Telecast – Tennis Channel

Start Time – To be Announced

Location – Madrid, Spain

Match details – Round of 16 match

Head-to-head and Predictions

Khachanov and Rublev have played each other twice before on the ATP tour and also happen to be partners in doubles. They know each other’s game very well and all the previous encounters have been closely fought with the head-to-head tally currently standing at 2-2. On paper, Rublev is the slight favourite going into this match both in terms of form and rankings, but we can certainly expect Khachanov to pose a tough challenge. It promises to be an intense clash and we are predicting a win in three sets for Rublev.

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