TennisSection previews the 2021 Halle Open as Andrey Rublev (4) meets Nikolosz Basilashvili in the Semi-Finals on Saturday June 19th, 2021.
Fourth seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia will face unseeded Georgian Nikolosz Basilashvili in the Semis here at the 2021 Halle Open. Can Basilashvili causes the massive upset here, advancing to his first ever grass court Final? Or will the huge favorite Andrey Rublev get the win as expected?
Andrey Rublev is the fourth seed here at the 2021 Halle Open, and is ranked #7 on the ATP Tour. The Russian star has been dominating the ATP-500 tournament scene over the past two years, and is finally starting to make waves in the bigger events. He did not have much grass court experience before entering this event in Halle but has been outstanding so far, and is yet to lose a set. Rublev is yet to be truly tested so far, with wins over Jordan Thompson, Karen Khachanov and Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Quarter-Finals. He has been serving very well, and that along with his intense groundstrokes are major weapons on this fast surface. The Russian enters this match as the big favorite to advance here against Nikolosz Basilashvili and will be backing himself to reach the Final here in Halle.
Nikolosz Basilashvili is currently ranked #30 in the ATP world rankings and is unseeded here at the 2021 Halle Open. A former top 20 player, he had a horrific 2020 season but has rebounded nicely this year but inconsistency is still plaguing him. He has claimed two titles already this year which may seem like a good return, but other than that he has hardly strung wins together. He reached the Round of 16 last week in Stuttgart before falling to eventual champion Marin Cilic and will be pleased at his Semi-Final run here in Halle. After Qualifying, he has had solid wins, especially over Lloyd Harris in the Quarter Finals where he displayed some fantastic aggressive tennis. Despite his good recent form, he is the heavy underdog here against Andrey Rublev and is in for a tough time.
This will be the fifth meeting between the two players on the ATP Tour, with the head to head record tied at 2-2. Nikolosz Basilashvili won the first two times they played back in 2019, and the Russian Rublev has won both since. Since then, their careers have gone in drastically different directions, with the Georgian struggling while the Russian has established himself as a top 10 player. Both men have played some great tennis so far here in Halle, but I am backing Andrey Rublev to get the straightforward win here. He is a much better player than Basilashvili, and I don’t expect him to lose here. It won’t be easy, but the Russian will win in two tough sets.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win in straight sets.
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