ATP St. Petersburg: Andrey Rublev vs. Denis Shapovalov - Match-Up for the ATP Finals Premiere
Denis Shapovalov and Andrey Rublev are considered to be the most promising representatives of the young generation on the ATP tour. Now the two will meet in the semifinals of the ATP 500 event in St. Petersburg. And fight directly for their first participation in the Nitto ATP Finals.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Oct 17, 2020, 08:44 am
Not Dominic Thiem, not Alexander Zverev and also not Rafael Nadal. No, Andrey Rublev is the player who has won the two most games of the current season on the ATP tour. Only Novak Djokovic was able to win more matches in the 2020 calendar year. In terms of titles, the special tennis year 2020 was a successful one for the young Russian, after the two triumphs at the start of the season in Doha and Adelaide, the 22-year-old last won his third cup of the year in Hamburg.
Now the world number 10. also made good progress at his home event, the ATP 500 event in St. Petersburg. After his very convincing quarter-final victory over Cameron Norrie, Rublev is in the semifinals. Now there is an extremely interesting match-up waiting for you: The Russian will meet his one year younger competitor Denis Shapovalov, who was able to eliminate Stan Wawrinka on the way to the semi-finals.
Tsitsipas and Zverev also qualified
In addition to the promising sporting facet in the clash between the two offensive players, this semi-final is also about a particularly prestigious evaluation. Both Rublev and Shapovalov currently have a good chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time and are now fighting in a direct duel to see who can secure one of the last two remaining places. Because there are points to get for both Shapovalov and Rublev in St. Petersburg. Last year, when the tournament still belonged to the ATP-250 category, the quarter-finals were the last stop for the Russian. Shapovalov didn't even start in the Russian metropolis.
In the event of a tournament victory, both Shapovalov and his Russian semi-final opponent could overtake the Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, who is currently ninth in the ATP charts and currently has the best tickets for a qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals. In addition to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem , Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvdev are currently qualified for the big competition at the end of the season. Whether they have to deal with Denis Shapovalov or Andrey Rublev, that will be largely decided on Saturday in St. Petersburg.