TennisSection previews and predicts the 2021 Rotterdam Open as Andrey Rublev (4) meets Jeremy Chardy in the Quarter-finals on Friday, March 5th 2021.
Will Andrey Rublev continue to win all of his matches at ATP 500 level, being undefeated in his last 17 matches? Will Jeremy Chardy go deep into a tournament and shock us all as he did against David Goffin? All we know so far is that we are in for a very tight and exciting matchup between two players who thrive in these indoor hard-court conditions. Will it be the favourite, Andrey Rublev, to make his way to the Semi-finals, or will Jeremy Chardy be able to cause the upset here at the 2021 Rotterdam Open. Here is our Tennis Preview and Prediction!
Andrey Rublev (4) has been in incredible form since the start of 2020, winning 5 titles last year, and already winning a title this year with Team Russia at the ATP Cup! Rublev is the World No.8 at the moment, and it is incredible to know that he still has aspects of his game he can improve. Rublev loves playing in ATP 500 tournaments, having won the last 3 tournaments of this size in 2020, and looking to win the first one of 2021 as well. Rublev has played two matches here in Rotterdam this year, and he has not lost a set yet. In the first round, Rublev beat Marcos Giron 7-6(1)/6-3, and in the second round, he beat Andy Murray 7-5/6-2. Rublev is a man on a mission and he is definitely going to have an even bigger 2021 season on the ATP Tour if he continues playing like this. The best aspects of Andrey’s game are his mentality, speed around the court, and determination to always give it his all, whether he is 40-0 up or 0-40 down. Andrey now meets a very tough opponent in Jeremy Chardy in the quarter-finals, and he knows that this match will be filled with long and draining rallies. Andrey Rublev has had the best of Jeremy Chardy many times in the past, but will he be able to extend the head to head to 6-1, or will Jeremy Chardy come out here and cause what would be a shocking upset against the No.4 seed in Rotterdam?
Jeremy Chardy has gone a bit under the radar in recent times, mostly playing in smaller ATP 250 tournaments, and mainly focusing the remainder of his career in the Doubles arena. However, Chardy has impressed everyone here at the 2021 Rotterdam Open, making his way to the quarter-finals beating the heavy favourites in both his first and second round matches. In his first round match, Chardy beat the up and coming Frenchman Ugo Humbert in 3 tight sets 4-6/7-6(5)/7-6(4). In the second round, Jeremy Chardy caused another upset, beating the 2021 Montpellier Open winner in straight sets 7-6(3)/7-6(5). Chardy looked down and out towards the end of that first set against David Goffin, with Goffin serving with two set points. However, Chardy is the master of comebacks and he can always turn a match around from the brink of elimination. Chardy now meets a much tougher opponent than anyone he has played here at the Rotterdam Open in Andrey Rublev. Will he be able to cause another upset here and knock out one of the last two seeds remaining in the tournament?
Andrey Rublev and Jeremy Chardy have met 6 times before already, at both ATP Tour level and Challenger Tour level. Their latest encounter was at the 2020 US Open in the first round where Andrey Rublev won in straight sets 6-4/6-4/6-3. In their second to last encounter, they met again met in the first round of the 2018 US Open, where Jeremy Chardy put on a bit more of a fight, winning one set, with Andrey Rublev winning 6-2/4-6/6-4/6-1. Their matches, although they went most of the times the way of Rublev, were very tight and were determined by one or two small mistakes in each set. Who will come out on top in this third and very exciting encounter on Friday in the quarter-finals of the 2021 Rotterdam Open?
This is definitely going to be a very interesting match to watch, as although Andrey Rublev enters this match as the heavy favourite, Jeremy Chardy can definitely cause upsets against some of the best players in the world. Chardy has shocked everyone before in matches, beating the likes of Roger Federer when he is the heavy underdog, but can he do it against a very in form Andrey Rublev? Andrey Rublev is the best commodity in tennis at the moment in my opinion, continuously improving, remaining humble, and putting in the hard work behind closed doors to ensure he does not stay at this level, but that he improves. When analysing this match, the big factor will be the Jeremy Chardy return of serve on Andrey Rublev’s second serve. Rublev is nearly unbeatable when he gets his first serve in, but when he has to hit a second serve, these can be easily predictable and returnable. Chardy will have to focus on this aspect of the Rublev game if he is to get anything from this match. However, even by focusing on this aspect of Rublev’s game to get some opportunities throughout the match, I just do not see Andrey Rublev, in his current form, losing here.
Free Tennis Preview and Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win.
