Zhizhen Zhang vs Andrey Rublev Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Cincinnati Open

Prediction published on 14/08/2024, 05:43  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 14/08/2024 at 06:32 in ATP Cincinnati Open Predictions

Fresh from reaching the final of the Rogers Cup, Andrey Rublev kicks off his Cincinnati Masters campaign. The sixth seed had a bye in the first round and now takes on unseeded Zhizhen Zhang for a place in the last 16. Here's our match prediction.

Rublev lost to Alexei Popyrin in the Rogers Cup final but his run in Montreal continued his return to form. That included a win over world number one Jannik Sinner. He was so consistent in the first few months of the year and won one hard court title. That's the surface this Masters event is being played on.

The Russian is sixth in the world rankings but can't climb any higher even if he was to win this title. In the Live ATP Race, he's seventh but a win over Zhang will take him into sixth. 

Zhizhen Zhang has lost both of his previous meetings with Rublev and they were played on hard courts. The most recent match was in Dubai this year with Rublev winning in three sets.

Zhang is at 41st in the live rankings after his first round win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. He won that in straight sets, though a tie-break was needed to clinch the second. This is his first tournament since the Paris Olympics, though that was played on clay.

It was a welcome win over Perricard as he'd lost four of his previous five matches. One quarter-final has been reached on hard courts this year. That was indoors in Marseille but the five hard court events he's played before this week have seen him fail to win two matches.

The winner of this match will face either Brandon Nakashima or Arthur Fils in round three, both are unseeded. We tip Rublev to win this in straight sets.