Andrey Rublev has been playing some of the best tennis of his career this year. The 22-year-old is ranked a career-high No. 12 in the world, and he reached his second US Open quarter-final last month.
Rublev also won two ATP titles at Qatar and Adelaide prior to the tennis shutdown enforced by the coronavirus pandemic.
Relentless from Rublev! 🏆@AndreyRublev97 defeats Harris 6-3, 6-0 to win his 8th straight match and 2nd consecutive title.#AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/YjVcwYwqVy
Tennys Sandgren meanwhile is currently ranked No. 49 in the world, just eight spots below his career-best ranking of No. 41. The American reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January where he lost to Roger Federer after holding seven match points. Notably, this was the second time that Sandgren had reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne.
Federer finds a way 🇨🇭@rogerfederer saves seven match points to def. Tennys Sandgren 6-3 2-6 2-6 7-6(8) 6-3 and reach the #AusOpen semifinals for the 15th time.#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/B3Biy3q1Ez
After the return of professional tennis, the 29-year-old reached the third round of the Western & Southern Open, where he lost to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. He was also defeated in the first round at the US Open.
Sandgren qualified for the Italian Open last week but lost in the first round. He has come through the qualifying draw once again this week.
Andrey Rublev and Tennys Sandgren have never faced each other on tour, so the head-to-head between the two players currently stands at 0-0.
Both Andrey Rublev and Tennys Sandgren are aggressive players who like to play a first-strike game, which is probably suited to faster surfaces.
However, Rublev has been successful on clay in the past. He reached the final of this event in 2019, has won one title in Umag, and is a former junior champion at Roland Garros.
The Russian reached the second round of the recent Italian Open too. And although Sandgren has two wins under his belt this week, Rublev should be able to come out on top in this one.
