Second-round action at the Mubadala Citi Open wraps up on Wednesday, when both Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev take the court. Both Russians are facing Americans. Rublev is going up against Learner Tien, while Medvedev battles Reilly Opelka.
Here are my picks for two of Wednesday’s best matchups.
Learner Tien vs. (5) Andrey Rublev
Rublev has been struggling in recent seasons, but he at least finds himself in the top 10–right on the number in 10th position. Heading into Washington, D.C., the fifth seed has not beaten anyone ranked better than No. 60 in the world since mid-may in Hamburg. The good news for Rublev is that he has won five combined in his last two tournaments (Wimbledon and Los Cabos).
Up first for the 27-year-old is a first-ever meeting with Tien, who defeated Emilio Nava 6-1, 6-4 in the opening round. That was a decent result, but the 19-year-old American will have to do more than that in order to prove that he is ending a slump that saw him go 5-10 in his last 15 matches prior to this week. This is a tough test against Rublev, who reached at least the quarterfinals in three of his first four trips to the district.
Pick: Rublev in 2
(8) Daniil Medvedev vs. Reilly Opelka
Medvedev and Opelka will be facing each other for the seventh time in their careers and for the second time this summer. They just squared off on the lawn of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where Opelka prevailed 7-6(5), 7-6(5). Medvedev leads the head-to-head series 4-2 and has won all three of their outdoor hard-court contests, although two of those were decided by third-set ‘tie’breakers–including at this same Mubadala Citi Open in 2017.
Like Rublev, Medvedev has not been at his best for more than a year now. On the bright side, the world No. 14 finished runner-up in Washington, D.C. when he last participated in this event in 2019. Opelka already has a victorye under his belt this week, but it wasn’t convincing–a 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-3 decision against qualifier Murphy Cassone. The 6’11” American is always dangerous thanks to his massive serve, but an edge should go to Medvedev.
Pick: Medvedev in 3
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.