Novak Djokovic’s shocking defeat to Dan Evans leaves Nadal as the top remaining seed. Can anyone stop the King of Clay from winning this event for an astounding 12th time? Andrey Rublev tied Djokovic for most wins on the ATP Tour last season, and he’ll try to secure his first over Nadal on Friday.
The other three singles quarterfinals feature seeded players against unseeded ones. But those unseeded players are all dangerous, as each upset a top eight seed to claim their spot in the quarters. And in doubles, three of the top four seeds are still alive, as are a veteran French team who were the champions of this event in 2016.
Throughout the week, this preview will analyze the most prominent match of the day, and note the other intriguing matchups on the day’s schedule. Friday’s play will begin at 11:00am local time.
Rafael Nadal (3) vs. Andrey Rublev – Fourth on Court Rainier III
Their most prominent previous clash occurred during Rublev’s breakout event. At the 2017 US Open, a 19-year-old Rublev reached his first Major quarterfinal. However, he was promptly destroyed in that round by Nadal, earning only five games across three sets. And Nadal has been in destroy mode thus far this week, dropping only five games across four sets.
Four years later, Rublev is a much more developed, accomplished player. Since the start of last season, he’s 63-14, with six titles. And while he’s not the King of Clay, he’s 12-2 on this surface during that same span. So his rematch with Nadal should be a much more competitive affair. But the Russian is coming off a grueling, nearly three-hour contest on Thursday evening with another Spaniard, Roberto Bautista Agut. And Nadal is a strong favorite just about every time he walks onto a clay court.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Fabio Fognini (15) vs. Casper Ruud – Fognini is the defending champion from 2019, and is yet to drop a set this week. Ruud came back from 5-2 down on Wednesday, saving two match points against Carreno Busta. The 22-year-old Norwegian is 2-0 against the Italian, which includes a victory on clay last September in Hamburg.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina – This is their first meeting, and the 21-year-old Spaniard’s first time advancing this far at a Masters event.
David Goffin (11) vs. Dan Evans – The British No.1’s three victories this week represent nearly half of his career total on this surface. Goffin took out fifth-seeded Sascha Zverev on Thursday. Evans claimed their only previous encounter in straight sets, at last year’s ATP Cup.
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (2) vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut (7) – Mektic and Pavic are an outstanding 26-3 on the year, with four titles. The Frenchmen own a career Grand Slam as a team, as well as seven Masters 1000 titles. At the Australian Open, Mektic and Pavic outlasted Herbert and Mahut in a third-set 10-point tiebreak.
Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (1) vs. Fabio Fognini and Diego Schwartzman – On Thursday, Cabal and Farah dominated two other top singles players, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz. This is Fabio and Diego’s first event as a team since three years ago in Madrid, where they lost to Cabal and Farah in straights.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
