US Open 2020: Matteo Berrettini vs Andrey Rublev preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Matteo Berrettini vs Andrey Rublev
Date: 7 September 2020
Tournament: US Open 2020
Round: Fourth round (Round of 16)
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $39,024,000
Match timing: 3 pm EDT, 12.30 am IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel/ESPN | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Matteo Berrettini vs Andrey Rublev preview
World No. 8 Matteo Berrettini will be aiming to take a step closer to replicating his 2019 result at Flushing Meadows when he faces fellow NextGen star Andrey Rublev in the US Open fourth round on Monday.
Berrettini did not have an ideal start to the year, which saw him getting dumped out of the Australian Open in the first round itself. But he has gradually got back to top form after arriving in New York, and he couldn't have chosen a better time to do that.
The Italian has been at his aggressive best this entire week, not having dropped serve even once in his first three rounds. With a hammer-like serve and a forehand loaded with spin and power, Berrettini has been beating all of his opponents comfortably.
The 24-year-old reached the semifinals of last year's edition, where he lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. But Berrettini will have considerably smaller obstacles in his way this time around, with the only top players in his section of the draw being Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem.
Before facing them though, he will first need to get the better of World No. 14 Andrey Rublev - whom he had also faced in last year's Round of 16.
Rublev won two back-to-back titles at the start of 2020, which was enough to propel him into the top 15. And although the COVID-19-enforced break halted the Russian's momentum, he spent all of his downtime practicing.
The training has clearly paid off. Rublev has shown his new fangs at Flushing Meadows this week, to reach the fourth round for the third time in five appearances.
In his third round match against Salvatore Caruso, Andrey Rublev blasted 17 aces and 35 winners on his way to registering bagels in the first and the third sets. The Russian will have blood on his mind when he faces up to Berrettini on Monday, having gone down tamely to the Italian at the same stage last year.
Matteo Berrettini vs Andrey Rublev head-to-head
Matteo Berrettini leads Andrey Rublev by a margin of 3-1 in the head-to-head. Their most recent meeting was in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Vienna Open, where Berrettini triumphed in two close sets.
Besides their Vienna encounter and their fourth round match from the 2019 US Open, the pair also met at Marseille last year - where Berrettini was swatted aside in straight sets by Rublev.
Matteo Berrettini vs Andrey Rublev prediction
Matteo Berrettini has been in scintillating form at the 2020 US Open, somehow looking even better than he did last year. The Italian has averaged 46 winners across his three matches so far.
The whip forehand has been at its scary best, and Berrettini has used the 'serve +1' strategy to perfection this week. The 24-year-old has been great at the net too, showing good feel for someone of his size.
Andrey Rublev comes into the match-up as the underdog, but he has arguably played just as well as the Italian. The Russian has hit a big ball on his forehand all week long, and has been solid off the backhand wing as well.
The key to the match for both players will be to serving well and swinging freely on the forehand, an approach that has worked for both so far.
Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win in five sets.