Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Andrey Rublev vs Brandon Nakashima: ATP Montreal – Third round

The American Brandon Nakashima will take on Andrey Rublev in the third round of ATP Montreal.

Andrey Rublev Profile

Andrey Rublev is eighth in the ATP rankings, three spots lower than his career high. The Russian is 31-15 for the season and 16-6 on hard surface.

Rublev is coming off a 7-6, 6-2 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the opening round. Last week in Washington, he lost in the quarterfinal to Frances Tiafoe, 6-4, 7-6.

He won two titles this season in Hong Kong and Madrid.

This is his third appearance in Montreal, and this is the furthest he has gone.

Brandon Nakashima Profile

Brandon Nakashima is currently 54th in the ATP rankings and his career high was No. 43. The American is 49-22 for the season and 16-6 on hard surface.

Nakashima is coming off a 6-2, 6-7, 9-1 win over Tommy Paul in the second round, after previously defeating Denis Shapovalov. In the qualifiers, Nakashima went past Billy Harris and Nicolas Arseneault.

Last week, he lost to Ben Shelton in the round of 16 in Washington in two tiebreaks.

Nakashima’s best results this season were winning the title at the Tenerife Challenger and reaching the final in Koblenz.

This is his second appearance in Montreal after losing in the opening round in 2022.

Head-to-Head Tied 1-1

• Nakashima vs Rublev 6-4, 7-6 (2024 ATP Barcelona, second round)
• Rublev vs Nakashima 6-2, 6-1 (2021 ATP San Diego, round of 16)

Prediction and Conclusion

Andrey Rublev has had a solid first half of the season but has not been even close to good form in the last couple of months. The Russian is under pressure and has to regain his confidence. Nakashima definitely does not lack any of it since he has come this far from the qualifiers. Nakashima is coming off an impressive win over the highest-ranked American player, Tommy Paul, but his journey in Montreal will stop here as Rublev will win this one in straight sets.