Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP 500 match.
Neither player will have the pressure of defending points from last year's tournament in Basel, Switzerland. Will this allow them to play with more freedom?
Andrey Rublev
Based on his performances since the US Open, Andrey Rublev is admittedly not in top form this autumn. He has suffered defeats in three consecutive tournaments to opponents ranked outside the top 50. He lost to local player Yunchaokete Bu at the China Open, went down against Jakub Mensik at the Shanghai Masters, and was defeated by the seasoned Stan Wawrinka, who is currently not even in the top 150, at the Stockholm ATP 250 event. Still, reaching two quarterfinals is not a bad outcome.
Nuno Borges
For the Portuguese player, 2024 has been a breakthrough year. He broke into the top 35, achieved a positive match record (24-22) for the first time, and played over forty matches, claiming his maiden ATP title by defeating none other than Rafael Nadal. Although it was just an ATP 250 tournament in Bastad, it was on Rafa's favourite clay surface (6:3, 6:2). The last few months have also been successful for Borges as he reached the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in his career, where he lost to another Russian, Daniil Medvedev. However, he has not participated in any tournaments for the last month and a half, which could be a factor.
Andrey Rublev vs Nuno Borges Prediction
While the players have undoubtedly watched each other's matches, they remain unknown quantities to each other, having never met directly. Rublev’s less than stellar form is offset by his experience and match practice, while Borges has been off the radar since the US Open. As the top seed in Basel, the Russian must assert his status, though the match could be somewhat tense for him.
