US Open 2022: Andrey Rublev vs. Frances Tiafoe Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 US Open as Andrey Rublev takes on Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, September 7th, 2022.

Will Andrey Rublev get the win? Will Frances Tiafoe pull off the upset? This will be a fascinating one, where two massive hitters gunning for their first major semi final face off. Who will triumph and move through to the semifinals at the 2022 US Open?

Andrey Rublev took down Cameron Norrie in a masterclass, 6-4 6-4 6-4. He was just unbelievably solid, hitting really big but hardly missing, he was playing so controlled, so measured, not overplaying it as we’ve seen in the past. Frances Tiafoe might not be Rafael Nadal, but he is still going to be one hell of a hurdle to overcome. I actually do like this matchup for Rublev, as he can hit so hard and through the court, neutralizing Tiafoe’s ball, but I don’t like that Tiafoe can easily attack him off 2nd serves. In the end it may come down to physicality as well considering a couple of the long matches Rublev has played. Let’s see if the Russian will be able to do it after the 6th time of asking and manage to book a place in the last 4 here at the 2022 US Open.

Frances Tiafoe took down Rafael Nadal in the greatest match of his life, 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-3, moving through to the quarterfinals of the US Open for the first time, where he will face Andrey Rublev for a spot in the last four. These two played a 5 set epic last year here, with Tiafoe getting the better of him. I really like these conditions for both players, and I think this will be a really fun contest, but ultimately, the result of the match will come down to whether or not Tiafoe will serve as well as he did today. Nadal wasn’t that great in his return games, but Tiafoe still served up a storm, and if he does that again, he’ll definitely be in winning position for a place in the semifinals at the 2022 US Open.

Andrey Rublev and Frances Tiafoe have met twice before, with the head to head being tied at 1-1. Their first meeting came in the 3rd round last year with Tiafoe winning in 5, with their 2nd meeting coming in Indian Wells this year with Rublev winning quite easily. Tiafoe is very much a confidence player, it’s very possible he’ll come out even better in the quarterfinals than he was against Nadal, but at the same time, Rublev just hasn’t been missing, and I don’t think Tiafoe will be able to play nearly as aggressively against Rublev outside of his own service games and potentially off Andrey’s second serve. This will be a contested battle, but this might just be Rublev’s moment to finally win a major quarterfinal and book himself a place in the last four at the 2022 US Open.