ATP Finals 2023: Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Zverev preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (5) Andrey Rublev vs (7) Alexander Zverev
Date: November 17, 2023
Tournament: ATP Finals 2023
Round: Round robin
Venue: Pala Alpitour, Turin, Italy
Category: Year-ending championships
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Prize money: $15,000,000
Live telecast: USA – Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video | Canada - TSN
Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Zverev preview
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev will take on Alexander Zverev in the group stage of the 2023 ATP Finals on Friday.
Rublev's campaign in Turin started with a disappointing straight sets loss to Daniil Medvedev. He faced reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the next match of the group stage.
Rublev did well enough to keep up with Alcaraz for the better part of the first set, but faded away in the end. He dropped the last three games of the opener to let it slip from his grasp. The Russian hit a wall in the second set and got broken twice as the 20-year-old handed him a 7-5, 6-2 defeat.
Zverev, meanwhile, defeated Alcaraz in his first match here and was up against Medvedev in his second group tie. The German went down an early break in the opening set, but dug deep to level the score and take the set into a tie-break.
Zverev led 4-1 in it and even held a couple of set points, but a resurgent Medvedev snatched the set from him. The two were neck and neck in the second set, but the German got broken in the 10th game of the set and lost the match 7-6 (7), 6-4.
Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Zverev head-to-head
Zverev leads Rublev 5-3 in the head-to-head. The Russian won their most recent encounter at the 2023 Erste Bank Open in Vienna in three sets.
Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Zverev odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Zverev prediction
Rublev has no shot at making the semifinals after a couple of straight sets losses here. Zverev, on the other hand, has a fighting chance, but a win over the Russian won't be enough. He'll need Medvedev to defeat Alcaraz as well in the other match, as the Spaniard's victory would render his own futile.
Zverev initially dominated his rivalry with Rublev as he won their first five matches. However, the latter has made some inroads this year as he won all three of their duels. The Russian made sure to punish the German's passive gameplay with his offensive style of play.
However, Rublev often lacks a back-up plan and doesn't infuse his game with that much variety as his contemporaries. It makes his game predictable, and given his level this week, he could do with some change since he has nothing to lose.
Zverev's level has been a bit higher than Rublev this week. He's also a two-time champion at the ATP Finals, while his opponent has won just four matches at the tournament throughout his career. As such, the German will be favored to get the upper hand in this contest.
Pick: Alexander Zverev to win in three sets.