Andrey Rublev will have to conquer two opponents in Wednesday’s US Open quarterfinals.
The 25-year-old Russian is playing his best buddy Daniil Medvedev on the court, but he’ll also need to defeat some serious demons, as well.
This is the ninth time that Rublev has made it to a Grand Slam quarterfinal (he’s made it to the quarters at every major, including three times previously at the US Open) and amazingly he’s never made it to a semifinal.
Adding to t𒁏hat drama is that fact that, to vanquish his quarterfinal curse, Rublev will need to beat his best friend Medvedev, who just recently honored Rublev by naming him as the godfather to his daughter.
There’s a lot to tackle in this one.
Andrey Rublev vs. Daniil Medvedev pick
Medved🎀ev is the higher seed, is 5-2 against Rublev in their respective careers and has quite a bit of success atඣ Grand Slams.
Medvedev won the US Open back in 2021, was a runner-up at the 2021 Australia💝n Open and is a former semifinalist at Wimbledon.
It’s no surprise that he’s been installed as a -275 favorite to beat his compatriot.
Medvedev also is coming off a t🌄༒errific performance against World No. 13 Alex de Minaur in the Round of 16.
The Russian sputtered out ♎of the gates, but once he found his game it was൩ one-way traffic.
An u💟northodox player, Medvedev is extremely difficult to stop onc𝓡e he gets going.
He plays quick, has plenty of tricks up his sle🎉eve and also packs 💯plenty of power behind his shots.
Medvedev is an artist when he’s on court, but that shouldn’t fool you into thinking he can’t overpower his opponents, either.
The victory over de Minaur was quite notable for a couple of r🐬easons.
One, Medvedev has had a pretty easy path to the fourth round before takingಞ on th💞e Aussie.
And two, the Russian was in middling form beforeﷺ the US Open, includ𒁃ing an ugly loss to de Minaur in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Masters last month.
Like his friend, Rublev also had some questions to answer about his level coming into the year’s final Grand Slam.
The 25-year-old won a 250-level title on clay immediately after Wimb🎐🌟ledon, but his form dipped right after that and he would end up losing three matches in a row, including going 0-2 on hard courts, immediately leading up to the US Open.
That dip had plenty 🥀of people picking against the Russian, but Rublev was able to get through his first four matches with very little fuss, which is impressive considering he had to take on tricky opponents like Gael Monfils and Jack Draper.
Rublev’s four-set victory against Monfils sticks out as a very mature performance, as the effervescent Frenchman had the backing of the crowd and there were some moments where the pressure built up on Rublev, but he maintained his composure and was able to navigate some choppy waters.
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If Rublev is able to remain patient and wait for the right opportunity to uncork his powerful forehand, he’ll have a shot against Medvedev.
You can’t be rushed into bad shots against the World No. 3.
Considering how he’s looked through the first four rounds, this is a tempting price on Rublev.
Had he been a little less consistent or spent more time on court, then I’d be a little hesitant to back Rublev, even at this number.
But instead of being scared of the demons he’ll face, I’ll flip the script and make the argument that the fact that Rublev is 0-8 in quarterfinals is driving his price up to a point where it’s absolutely playable, even against an elite opponent like Medvedev.
The bet: Andrey Rublev +225 (bet365)