Rivalries Of 2022: Rublev vs. Tsitsipas

This week, ATPTour.com continues its annual season-in-review series, looking back at 2022’s best matches, biggest upsets, most dramatic comebacks and more. In this installment, we look back at Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas’ rivalry in 2022. On Tuesday we will focus on Nick Kyrgios and Daniil Medvedev’s rivalry.

Very little has separated Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas throughout their ATP Head2Head history, which the Greek Tsitsipas leads 6-5. Neither man has won more than two consecutive matchups in the series, with straight-sets wins a rarity.

That theme continued in 2022, when all three meetings went to a deciding set. Tsitsipas won the first two, in Madrid and Astana, before Rublev got the last laugh at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. ATPTour.com looks back at those matches as we put one of the season’s best rivalries in the spotlight.

Mutua Madrid Open, QF, Tsitsipas d. Rublev 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
Less than a month after he successfully defended his Monte Carlo title, Tsitsipas made another deep clay-court run at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid. After he stormed into the quarter-finals without dropping a set and ripped through the opener against Rublev, the Greek met his first real resistance on the week as the match wore on.

The Tsitsipas serve was the standout shot in the opening set, as the fourth seed dropped just six points on his delivery, but Rublev’s forehand did the heavy damage in set two. Neither man could pull away as they traded blows in the final set, and a tie-break seemed the likely outcome. But at 4-4, Tsitsipas produced a brilliant return game to edge ahead before serving out a hard-fought win.

“He was really applying a lot of force into the strokes, and it wasn’t easy predicting what was going to come next,” said Tsitsipas after fending off two Rublev break points in the final game. “But I’m very glad with the way things ended.

“It’s never easy playing him, and I really had to survive that last game with my best strength and give out my soul, pretty much, to finish it in such a good way.”

Perhaps feeling the effects of the two-hour battle, Tsitsipas was outlasted by Alexander Zverev in a three-set semi-final defeat. 

Astana Open, SF, Tsitsipas d. Rublev 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Five months after their Madrid meeting in May, Tsitsipas and Rublev squared off on the hard courts of Astana in October. 

Rublev used a fast start to take the opening set, saving three break points in the process, but it was Tsitsipas who excelled on the pressure points in sets two and three. After some battling holds in the final two sets, Tsitsipas struck late in each to advance to his sixth title match on the year. (He would finish 2022 with seven tour-level final appearances.)

The Greek pointed to his variety and aggression as the keys to his comeback at the ATP 500, while also crediting Rublev for his role in an entertaining matchup.

“I hit with a lot of variation and mixing and it went my way towards the end,” he said. “I kept pursuing those shots with a lot of passion and determination. It was not easy, being a set down. To have to deal with a very good opponent on the other side of the net made it an extremely physically battle. I am pleased with myself for being so determined to make it work so well.”

In the final, Tsitsipas did not have another fightback in him as he lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

Nitto ATP Finals, RR, Rublev d. Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
It was Rublev’s turn to come from behind in Turin, as he beat Tsitsipas in the round-robin stage of the season finale for the second straight year. Their 2022 matchup took on added significance — a winner-takes-all contest to close group play, with the winner advancing to the knockout rounds at the loser’s expense.

Tsitsipas was scorching at the start as he raced through the opening set behind vicious cuts on his serve and forehand. But Rublev stayed the course to advance to the semis for the first time in three Nitto ATP Finals appearances. As dominant as Tsitsipas was in the opening set, Rublev matched it and then some as he dictated play in the later stages. 

From 3-3 in set two, Rublev won nine of the final 11 games by firing winners off both wings and stepping into his returns with great effect.

“I didn’t give up. I kept fighting and playing,” he said. “I lost my emotions a bit when I lost a stupid game at 40/0 in the first set. I let my emotions go… I thought I would have chances if I just gave my best. I managed to turn the match around.”

For Rublev’s part, he sees their games as closely matched, as evidenced by the slim 6-5 lead Tsitsipas holds in their ATP Head2Head series: “If you take our match, every match, we have tough battles,” he said in Turin when told of Tsitsipas’ remarks. “This year I lost to him twice in three sets, and now I beat him in three sets.”

The pair have met three times in each of the past three seasons, and the stage is perfectly set for more in 2023.

Read more of our Best Of 2022 series