David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA
Andrey Rublev vs Zhizhen Zhang: ATP Cincinnati – Second round
The 2021 finalist Andrey Rublev will face off Zhizhen Zhang in the second round of ATP Cincinnati.
Andrey Rublev Profile
Andrey Rublev is sixth in the ATP rankings, one spot lower than his career high. The Russian is 34-16 for the season and 19-7 on hard surface.
Rublev is coming off a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Alexei Popyrin in the final in Montreal. On his way to get there, he defeated the world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinal.
Rublev won the titles in Hong Kong and Madrid this season.
His best result in Cincinnati was reaching the final in 2021 when he lost to Alexander Zverev.
Zhizhen Zhang Profile
Zhizhen Zhang is 44th in the ATP rankings and his career high was No. 31. The Chinese is 23-21 for the season and 7-7 on hard.
Zheng is coming off a 6-3, 7-6 win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round.
The week before, he lost in the opening round of the Olympics to Tomas Machac.
Zheng’s best result this season was the semifinal in Halle where he lost to Jannik Sinner.
This is his second appearance in Cincinnati after losing in the qualifiers last year.
Head-to-Head Rublev leads 2-0
- Rublev vs Zhang 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 (2024 ATP Dubai, first round)
- Rublev vs Zhang 6-3, 6-2 (2022 ATP Astana, round of 16)
Prediction and Conclusion
Andrey Rublev is coming off a challenging week. First, he defeated world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, and just when it looked like he would win the title in Montreal, he lost in the final to Alexei Popyrin. Rublev had no time to look back at that performance, as he was all set to face the highest-ranked Chinese player of all time, Zhang. This will be their second month this season after Rublev turned things around in Dubai. Rublev has a lot to prove this year, and he is in solid form, which will take him to the next round after beating Zhang today.
