Day 9 Preview: Rublev Continues Title Hunt Against Dimitrov

Andrey Rublev is a winning machine.

The World No. 7 has triumphed in his past 12 matches and will aim to keep his career-best run going when he faces Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday.

The 24-year-old has been a dominant force on the ATP Tour over recent weeks and is bidding to capture his third consecutive title, after lifting trophies in Marseille and Dubai in February.

“When you win two tournaments, it gives you great confidence that you don’t need to stress,” Rublev said earlier this week when discussing his strong start to the season. “You are more relaxed when you train and you train in a more positive way and with good intensity. The main thing is to keep this form going now.”

Rublev is a nine-time tour-level titlist, with five of his victories coming at ATP 500 tournaments. However, the seventh seed is yet to crack the code at an ATP Masters 1000 event, with his best results at this level coming in Monte-Carlo and Toronto last season, where he reached the championship match.

Rublev looks like he might change that record this weekend though as the action in Indian Wells hits fever pitch. He has earned straight-sets wins over Dominik Koepfer, Frances Tiafoe and Hubert Hurkacz so far in the California desert, but faces a tricky test against an opponent who has fond memories at the hard-court tournament.

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Dimitrov soared to the semi-finals in Indian Wells in 2021, earning standout wins against Top 10 stars Daniil Medvedev and Hurkacz. Like Rublev, the Bulgarian is yet to drop a set at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden this week, coming into the clash off the back of a victory over American John Isner.

Little has separated Dimitrov and Rublev in the past, with the pair locked at 2-2 in their ATP Head2Head series, with three of their four meetings coming on outdoor hard. However, they have not met since Beijing in 2019, when Rublev was the World No. 35, the same ranking Dimitrov is currently.

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Friday’s other singles quarter-final will see American Taylor Fritz continue to fly the flag for the home crowd when he takes on Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.

There is something in the Indian Wells air that brings the best out of the World No. 20, with Fritz reaching his maiden Masters 1000 semi-final at the event last October, when the tournament was played outside its regular March slot due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 24-year-old, who upset Matteo Berrettini, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev en route to the last four in 2021, has showcased his fighting qualities this week, edging Jaume Munar and Alex de Minaur in third-set tie-breaks. 

Fritz will carry a 1-0 ATP Head2Head series lead into his match against Kecmanovic, who is enjoying a dream run in the California desert.

The Serbian earned just his second Top 10 win when he overcame World No. 6 Berrettini on Wednesday. With his standout triumph, the World No. 61 booked his place in the last eight at a Masters 1000 for the second time, after also advancing to the same stage in Indian Wells on his tournament debut in 2019.

“He is playing really well,” Fritz said when asked about facing Kecmanovic. “He’s a really good ball-striker and I think it’s going to be a lot of big hitting probably.”

Kecmanovic will be aiming to reach the semi-finals at a tour-level event for the first time this year after losing in the last eight in Rio de Janeiro and Santiago in February.

In the doubles, Americans John Isner and Jack Sock will look to advance to the final when they take on Andrey Golubev and Alexander Zverev. Isner and Sock soared to the title in Indian Wells in 2018, defeating Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the final. Meanwhile, second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury will play Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin as they aim to win a second Masters 1000 crown as a team this week.

SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022

STADIUM 1 start 12:00 noon
ATP – [7] A. Rublev vs [33] G. Dimitrov (BUL)
ATP – M. Kecmanovic (SRB) vs [20] T. Fritz (USA)

Not Before 6:00 PM
WTA – [24] S. Halep (ROU) vs [3] I. Swiatek (POL)
WTA – [5] P. Badosa (ESP) vs [6] M. Sakkari (GRE)

STADIUM 2 start Not Before 6:00 pm
ATP – [WC] J. Isner (USA) / J. Sock (USA) vs A. Golubev (KAZ) / A. Zverev (GER)
ATP – [PR] S. Gonzalez (MEX) / E. Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs [2] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR)

Did You Know?
Rublev earned 11 straight victories in 2020, collecting titles in St. Petersburg and Vienna, before he lost to former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in the third round at the Rolex Paris Masters. He has now bettered that run here in Indian Wells, with his fourth-round win over Hurkacz his 12th in a row.