Botic Van de Zandschulp vs Andrey Rublev Prediction: Will Andrey take revenge on Botic?

In the quarterfinals of the representative tennis tournament in Dubai, Andrey Rublev will meet the 33rd-ranked ATP tennis player of the Netherlands, Botic Van de Zandschulp. The boys have played each other twice, and the Dutchman won both. Despite the head-to-head statistics, the bookmakers are siding with the Russian in the pairing.

For the Dutchman, the tournament in the UAE is his second on Arabian soil. In Doha, Botic beat Ivashka in two sets but lost to France's Muller in the same two sets. The Dutchman played two matches in Dubai and won the first against compatriot Andrey, Karen Khachanov, in two games and the second against Sweden's Mikael Ymer in three sets. The match against the Swede lasted two hours and 34 minutes; Botic won it with a score of 3:6, 6:3, and 6:3.

Andrey played a tightly contested match against Spaniard Davidovich Fokina. Rublev dropped the first set, dropping it 1-6. Then the Russian came to his senses, rebuilt his game, and won the match, beating Davidovich Fokina in both games on the tie-breaks. Overall, the match lasted two hours and 27 minutes. Let's remember that Andrey is not only fighting for points and title defense in Dubai but also for his status as the country's top-ranked player. Rublev and Medvedev must also play to stay at the top in the UAE.

Botic and Andrey have played each other twice. Both face-to-face meetings have come on the hard, but in the indoor, Botic won both, first in 2017 in Rotterdam, then in 2021 in St Petersburg.

Despite Rublev failing to beat the Spaniard in the last 16 in two sets, it must be said that Andrey had a quality match against Alejandro. Rublev in Dubai is determined to make the most of it, and his next opponent, if he beats the Dutchman, is likely to be Zverev. The Russian needs to be fresh in the semi-finals; beating Botic in two games is important. And Rublev is probably thinking about a rematch, as Andrey has not beaten Botic in head-to-head encounters to date. We believe Rublev will defeat his opponent on Thursday.

• Handicap 2 (-2.5) for 1.60;
• Correct score 0:2 for 2.00.

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