Hamburg Open 2020: Andrey Rublev vs Tommy Paul preview, head-to-head & prediction

By Haresh Ramchandani
Modified Sep 22, 2020 15:56 GMT
 Andrey Rublev reached the finals in Hamburg last year.
 Andrey Rublev reached the finals in Hamburg last year.

Match details

Fixture: Andrey Rublev vs Tommy Paul

Date: 23 September 2020

Tournament: Hamburg European Open 2020

Round: Round of 16 (Second round)

Venue: Hamburg, Germany

Category: ATP Masters 500

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: €1,062,520

Match timing: Not before 2 pm CEST, 5.30 pm I

Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | India - Sony Six

Andrey Rublev vs Tommy Paul preview

Andrey Rublev at the Italian Open in Rome last week.
Andrey Rublev at the Italian Open in Rome last week.

22-year-old Andrey Rublev has continued his upward rise on the tennis circuit this year.

The Russian, who reached the final of the Hamburg tournament last year, is coming off a quarterfinal appearance at the US Open. And prior to the tennis shutdown, he had won two ATP titles - at Qatar and Adelaide.

Rublev's opponent on Wednesday is 23-year-old Tommy Paul, who is ranked No. 59 in the world - just two spots below his personal best.

Tommy Paul during his win over Grigor Dimitrov in Melbourne, Australia.
Tommy Paul during his win over Grigor Dimitrov in Melbourne, Australia.

The American has had some good results this year. He qualified for and reached the semifinals at the Adelaide event in January, and then made the last 32 of the Australian Open where he knocked out the 20th ranked Grigor Dimitrov in the second round. Paul also reached the last eight in Acapulco, again coming through the qualifiers.

Andrey Rublev vs Tommy Paul head-to-head

Andrey Rublev leads Tommy Paul 1-0 in the head-to-head.
Andrey Rublev leads Tommy Paul 1-0 in the head-to-head.

Andrey Rublev leads the head-to-head rivalry 1-0 over Tommy Paul. Rublev scored a 7-5, 6-4 win over Paul at the Citi Open in 2018.

The two also have a history from the juniors, with Rublev beating Paul at the Orange Bowl event in 2012.

Andrey Rublev vs Tommy Paul prediction

Seeded No. 5 this week, Andrey Rublev scored a win over American qualifier Tennys Sandgren in the first round. After his win, Rublev said he was very happy with his performance.

"It was the best match I've played on clay this season," said Rublev to the ATP Tour site. "Today, I was feeling good and I am really happy with my performance as Tennys is such a good player.
"When I saw I was going to play him, I knew it was going to be a really tough match. I was really preparing mentally. In the end, I was able to control the match. I like the atmosphere here, I enjoy being back and I'm grateful to have won my first-round match."

Tommy Paul has come through the qualifying round at this event, and he scored a good win over former World No. 5 Kevin Anderson in his first-round match.

Paul is a former French Open junior boys singles champion and junior doubles runner-up. He grew up playing on clay courts in Greenville, North Carolina and knows how to play on the surface.

Rublev is also a former junior champion at Roland Garros, and has one clay court title victory in Umag to his credit.

This should be a good baseline battle between the two youngsters. Both players will try to take the initiative from the baseline and play aggressive tennis, but the Russian's superior consistency might just tilt the scales in his favor.

Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win in three sets.