Monte-Carlo 2023: Rublev vs Khachanov Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters third-round match featuring Andrey Rublev vs Karen Khachanov on Thursday, April 13, 2023.

Rublev vs Khachanov Match Preview and Prediction

Doubles partners will turn into singles opponents on Thursday as Andrey Rublev plays his countryman Karen Khachanov for a spot in the quarterfinal of the Monte-Carlo Masters. Who will prevail?

Andrey Rublev eked out a three-set win over Jaume Munar to get his clay swing off to a winning note at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters. It wasn’t smooth sailing at all, with the Spaniard making Rublev go for his shots and keeping him on his toes all afternoon. There were plenty of cat-and-mouse rallies, but Rublev’s power-packed game came to the rescue and he pulled away after surprisingly dropping the first set. He’ll now face Karen Khachanov for the fist time on clay.

Karen Khachanov, meanwhile, cruised into the round of 16 of the Monte-Carlo Masters. Khachanov, who sits two spots from re-entering the top 10, scaled the challenges of last year’s finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Belarusian qualifier Ilya Ivashka to set up a meeting against Andrey Rublev. It’s the most open half of his year’s draw, so who will punch his ticket into the last eight?

Rublev vs Khachanov Prediction and Pick

Karen Khachanov leads Andrey Rublev 3-2 in their head-to-head. They haven’t played each other since 2021, and this round-of-16 match at the Monte-Carlo Masters will be their first meeting on clay. The bookies can’t seem to separate these two, I feel this could be a long one, with very few break point opportunities, and the overs will likely hit. There have been 7-5 and 7-6 sets between them in their head-to-head. If you fancy taking Khachanov here, then a safe bet would be set handicap +1.5. But we’ll give a small edge to Rublev in ML. He is a sturdy competitor on this surface and has outperformed Khacahnov in terms of results. Rublev’s resilience is also something Khachanov hasn’t matched this year, with the former finalist winning three matches from a set down in 2023. So if things really go awry, he can be trusted to turn it around.