Bastad 2022: Andrey Rublev vs Sebastian Baez preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Nordea Open

Match Details

Fixture: (1) Andrey Rublev vs (8) Sebastian Baez

Date: July 15, 2022

Tournament: Nordea Open

Round: Semifinal

Venue: Bastad, Sweden

Category: ATP 250

Surface: Clay

Prize money: €534,555

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | India - Discovery.

Andrey Rublev vs Sebastian Baez preview

Andrey Rublev will lock horns with Argentina's Sebastian Baez in the semifinal round of the 2022 Nordea Open on Saturday.

Rublev, the top seed, came through a closely-contested match in the quarterfinals to book his spot in the last-four. He needed two tight sets to overcome the challenge from Laslo Djere, winning 7-5, 6-4.

Through to his first semifinal since his title-winning run in Serbia, Rublev will be looking to ride the momentum into Sunday's final.

Baez beat Dominic Thiem in a marathon quarterfinal encounter.

Baez, meanwhile, is coming off a big win in the quarterfinals of his own. Having already beaten the likes of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Fabio Fognini in his opening two matches, he outlasted Dominic Thiem in a marathon three-setter on Friday.

The Argentine showed great fighting spirit to come back after dropping the second set in a tiebreaker against Thiem, eventually prevailing 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4. Needless to say, he will come into the contest feeling good about his prospects.

Andrey Rublev vs Sebastian Baez head-to-head

This is set to be the first career meeting between Rublev and Baez, so their current head-to-head stands at 0-0.

Andrey Rublev vs Sebastian Baez odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games (Over & Under)
S. Baez	+120	-	-
A. Rublev	-155	-	-

All odds are sourced from BetMGM

Andrey Rublev vs Laslo Djere prediction

Rublev has not played his best tennis in Bastad so far but has done exceptionally well to adapt to the slower conditions, with his serve proving to be a potent weapon.

Steady first serve numbers have also helped him make up for some of the loose errors off the ground. That said, the Russian faces one of the most consistent players on the tour in Baez.

The Argentine does not always look to go for flashy winners but instead likes to build rallies and slug them out of the baseline. He sends a lot of balls back during points, which could prove to be a big test for Rublev, who tends to lose his cool when pitted against consistent ball-striking.

While the match will witness a complete contrast of styles, Rublev enters this contest fresher of the two players. If he can keep hitting his spots on the serve and play with measured aggression in the rallies, the Russian should be able to score another win here.

Prediction: Rublev to win in three sets.