St. Petersburg Open 2020: Andrey Rublev vs Cameron Norrie preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: Andrey Rublev vs Cameron Norrie

Date: 16 October 2020

Tournament: St. Petersburg Open 2020

Round: Quarterfinals

Venue: St. Petersburg, Russia

Category: ATP 500

Surface: Indoor hardcourt

Prize money: $1,243,790

Match timing: 1 pm Moscow Standard Time, 3.30 pm IST

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

Andrey Rublev vs Cameron Norrie preview

Home favorite and third seed Andrey Rublev takes on Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinal of the St. Petersburg Open on Friday.

Rublev is undoubtedly one of the in-form players of the 2020 season. He has looked extremely solid since the restart of the tennis season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Russian reached the quarterfinal of the US Open and followed it up with his third title of the year at the Hamburg European Open.

Another strong Grand Slam showing saw Rublev make a quarterfinal run at Roland Garros as well, granting him 29 wins in 2020. That is the second highest on tour this year, only behind Novak Djokovic's remarkable tally of 37.

The 22-year-old's run in St. Petersburg has been solid too. He kicked off his indoor hardcourt season with a routine win against Vasek Pospisil in the first round. Rublev did drop the first set in his second round encounter against Ugo Humbert, but eventually prevailed 4-6 6-4 7-5.

Cameron Norrie

Rublev will now go up against Britain's Cameron Norrie, who has no dearth of experience on the tour. The 25-year-old may not have had a brilliant year, but he does have some high-profile wins under his belt - including a first-round victory over Diego Schwartzman at the US Open.

Norrie defeated eighth seed Taylor Fritz and Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic quite convincingly to set up the quarterfinal encounter against Rublev.

Andrey Rublev vs Cameron Norrie head-to-head

The meeting in St. Petersburg is the first between Andrey Rublev and Cameron Norrie on tour, so the head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.

Andrey Rublev vs Cameron Norrie prediction

Andrey Rublev

Given their respective rankings and form, Andrey Rublev comes into the match against Cameron Norrie as the overwhelming favorite.

Rublev is one of the biggest hitters on the tour when he's on his game. And the small blip against Humbert, who played a high-quality match, shouldn't be much of an issue for his confidence.

Rublev's serving has been pretty good of late, and he has conceded only four break points in his previous two matches. That said, Norrie's ability with his return will likely be the sternest test of Rublev's serve in the tournament so far.

To stand a chance of pulling off an upset, Norrie would have to increase the length of the rallies and force as many errors as possible out of Rublev. But if the Russian maintains the resolve he has shown over the past few months, he should reach the semis without too many difficulties.

Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win in straight sets.