Rublev started the season triumphantly, winning his 15th career title at the Hong Kong Open. En route to the title, he picked up wins over Liam Brodie, Arthur Fis, Shang Juncheng and Emil Ruusuvuori.
Rublev then came close to being eliminated from the Australian Open in the first round, but managed to come back and defeat Thiago Wilde in five sets. He then beat Christopher Eubanks and Sebastian Korda in three sets, but it took him five games to get the better of Alex de Minaur.
After that, Rublev met Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, but lost to him 4-6, 6-7, 3-6. It was the Russian’s 10th consecutive TBS quarterfinal loss.
Bergs failed to qualify for the Hong Kong Open this year and achieved the same result at the Australian Open. However, he got a second chance as a lucky loser at the Australian Open.
Bergs then advanced to the main draw and faced Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round, but lost to him in four sets. After that, he participated in the Challenger Series tournament, but lost in the first round.
Bergs has two Davis Cup victories. In the qualifying rounds he beat Marin Cilic and Duje Adjukovic, and in the qualifiers in Rotterdam he beat Yuri Rodionov and Giulio Zeppieri to reach the main draw.
This will be the first meeting between Rublev and Bergs.
Predictions for the match between Andrei Rublev and Zizou Bergs
Bergs played well at the Davis Cup and was in good form during the qualifying rounds in Rotterdam.
But it looks like he will finish the Rotterdam tournament in the first round. Rublev lost only one match this year – against Sinner, who later won the Australian Open.
The Russian plays quite solidly and does not often lose to players whose rating is much lower than him. He’s had a pretty good start to the year and the difference between his level and that of Bergs is too big at the moment. Bergs is unlikely to resist; defeat is more likely. A Russian should not give up more than 5 to 6 games to his opponent. There is a possibility of a total defeat with a loss of up to three games.
Forecast: Andrey Rublev will confidently win in straight sets.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev/Athletistic
Source: Sport
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