Match Details
Fixture: (5) Andrey Rublev vs (16) Hubert Hurkacz
Date: October 14, 2023
Match Timing: Not before 4: 30 pm local time, 4:30 am ET, 2 pm IST, 8: 30 am GMT
Tournament: Shanghai Masters 2023
Round: Finals
Venue: Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, China
Category: ATP 1000
Surface: Hard (Indoor)
Prize money: $8,800,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN
Andrey Rublev vs Hubert Hurkacz preview
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev will take on 16th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the final of the Shanghai Masters on Sunday.
Rublev started the Masters 1000 event by beating Quentin Halys 6-4, 7-5 and followed it up by drubbing 31st seed Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-0. A 7-5, 7-5 victory over Tommy Paul saw him reach the quarterfinals, where he beat 32nd seed Ugo Humbert.
Rublev locked horns with Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals and won a tightly-contested opening set via a tiebreak to take the lead. He found himself a break down in the second set but bounced back to register a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win and book his place in the final of the Shanghai Masters.
Hubert Hurkacz, meanwhile, defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-6(5), 6-4 in the second round before beating Hsu Yu-Hsiou 6-4, 6-4 to reach the fourth round. Here, he survived a scare against Zhizhen Zhang, winning 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-6 (4) to reach the quarterfinals.
The Pole faced Fabian Marozsan in the last eight and came back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 and reach the semifinals. Here, his opponent was 26th seed Sebastian Korda and he won the first set 6-3 to take the lead in the match.
The second set saw Hurkacz convincingly win 6-4 to book his place in a Masters 1000 final for only the third time in his career.
Andrey Rublev vs Hubert Hurkacz head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two is currently tied at 2-2. Their last meeting came in the fourth round of the 2022 Indian Wells Masters, with Rublev winning 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Andrey Rublev vs Hubert Hurkacz odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Andrey Rublev vs Hubert Hurkacz prediction
Rublev's current run of form makes him the heavy favorite to win the Shanghai Masters final. However, Hurkacz is capable of defeating him, so we could have an interesting matchup on our hands.
Rublev has won 154 out of 196 points on his first serve so far at the Shanghiai masters, with 35 aces to his name. His strong serve, forehand, and aggression from the back of the court are parameters that make him an extremely formidable competitor.
Hurkacz has also been very strong on his first serve so far in Shanghai, winning 214 out of 258 points (82.95%) with 77 aces to his name. He also produced 184 winners while amassing just 37 unforced errors.
The Pole's counterpunching style serves as the ideal foil to the Russian's aggression and his transitions from defense to offense will come in very handy.
While Hurkacz is more than capable of putting up a fight against Rublev, the latter could well manage to come out on top if he is at his composed best throughout the match.
Pick: Andrey Rublev to win in three sets.