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Match Details
Fixture: (6) Andrey Rublev vs Alexei Popyrin
Date: April 10, 2024
Tournament: Monte-Carlo Masters 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Monte Carlo Country Club
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: €5,950,575
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel - USA | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Andrey Rublev vs Alexei Popyrin preview
Defending champion Andrey Rublev will take on Alexei Popyrin in the second round of the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters on Wednesday.
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Rublev captured his 15th career title at the start of the year at the Hong Kong Open. He then made it to the quarterfinals of his next three tournaments, including the Australian Open.
Rublev bucked the trend as he reached the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships. He was then defaulted towards the end of his match against Alexander Bublik due to unsportsmanlike conduct.
Rublev's results took a hit after that as he bowed out of the Indian Wells Masters in the third round and was eliminated in the second round of the Miami Open. As the sixth seed at the Monte-Carlo Masters, he received a bye into the second round.
Popyrin was drawn against Corentin Moutet in his opener here. The Australian was on the back foot for most of the first set, which eventually slipped out of his grasp after getting broken twice.
The two were on even footing for most of the second set until Popyrin broke the impasse. He broke Moutet's serve in the 11th game of the set to go 6-5 up, after which he served out the set himself.
Popyrin was in control of the match by now as he started the decider with a break of serve. He maintained the lead and snagged another break towards the end of the match to score a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win.
Andrey Rublev vs Alexei Popyrin head-to-head
Rublev leads Popyrin 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2023 Vienna Open in straight sets.
Andrey Rublev vs Alexei Popyrin odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Andrey Rublev vs Alexei Popyrin prediction
Popyrin did well to turn things around against Moutet in the first round. He upped the intensity as the match went on and blasted a total of 51 winners by the end of it.
Popyrin has improved quite a bit on clay in the past year. He had a 5-10 record on the surface until 2022 but improved to 16-16 by the end of 2023. This was due to his fourth-round finish at the Italian Open and a maiden title on clay at the Croatia Open.
Rublev has lost some steam after a strong start to the season. He was way off the mark in his last couple of events. While Popyrin has figured out a way to play better on the red dirt, the Russian has still performed miles better than him on the surface.
The Australian has never made it past the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters either. While Rublev appears to be in shaky form, he should be able to figure out a way to begin his title defense with a win.
Pick: Andrey Rublev to win in three sets.
