Tsitsipas Dominates, Rublev Upset on Day 2 of W&S Open
By Rahul Datta
Western and Southern Open action continued today with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, and John Isner were all in action today. Let’s breakdown the key matches of today.
Matches of the Day
In his return action, Stefanos Tsitsipas dominated Kevin Anderson, winning 6-1, 6-3. Though Tsitsipas didn’t hit many aces, he dominated during his serve, winning 78% of his first serve points and 55% of his second serve points. He also dominated on his return game, winning 4/6 break point opportunities. Anderson could never really get going throughout the match, only hitting one total ace and serving up 4 double faults.
Tsitsipas is one of the favorites to win the W&S Open this year, and he sure backed it up with his play today. For Anderson, the road back from injury continues to be bumpy, as his already low #123 ranking will probably drop even further.
Karen Khachanov also took care of business today, beating Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-4. Khachanov played an extremely clean match, hitting 7 aces and no double faults. He won 79% of his first service points and converted on 2/3 break points.
Khachanov will look to capitalize on this momentum going into his next match, as he has been pretty inconsistent throughout 2020, only going 9-6. Overall, he has been struggling to win matches, especially at majors, where he hasn’t made it past the 3rd round since 2019. He will look to build on his confidence during this tournament leading into next week’s US Open.
Upset Alert
In upset news, Dan Evans beat 10th-seeded Andrey Rublev in a three-set thriller. The match took over 2 and half hours to complete, as the momentum shifted between both players throughout the match. Dan Evans was able to overcome 7 double faults and 5 breaks of serve to win 7-5, 3-6. 6-2. It was by no means an easy match for either player, as Rublev had to save 12-of-18 break points faced throughout the match. However, his valiant effort wasn’t enough, and he was knocked off by the Brit. Dan Evans will look to continue his good fortune against Milos Raonic tomorrow.
Day 2 Results
[4] S Tsitsipas def [PR] K Anderson 6-1, 6-3
[W] T Sandgren def L Sonego 6-3, 7-6(7)
[Q] A Bedene def [13] C Garin 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-0
[11] K Khachanov def A Bublik 6-4, 6-4
R Gasquet def [Q] J Wolf 6-4, 6-4
[Q] E Ruusuvuroi def [Q] S Korda 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5
[9] D Schwartzman def C Ruud 7-6(2), 6-3
[16] J Isner def H Hurkacz 7-5, 6-4
J Millman def A Mannarino 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2)
D Evans def [10] A Rublev 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
[14] G Dimitrov def U Humbert 6-3, 6-4
[Q] M Fucsovics def [Q] N Gombos 6-3, 6-4
[7] D Goffin def B Coric 7-6(6), 6-4
Day 3 Schedule
11:00 AM EST
[3] D Medvedev vs [Q] M Giron
[WC] T Sandgren vs [15] F Auger Aliassime
T Fritz vs [Q] A Bedene
M Raonic vs D Evans
1 PM
R Opelka vs [9] D Schwartzman
[12] D Shapovalov vs J Struff
[16] J Isner vs J Millman
[11] K Khachanov vs P Carreno Busta
3 PM
[5] A Zverev vs [WC] A Murray
R Gasquet vs [8] R Bautista Agut
5 PM
[1] N Djokovic vs [Q] R Berankis
[14] G Dimitrov vs [Q] M Fucsovics
[6] M Berrettini vs [Q] E Ruusuvuori
7 PM
F Krajinovic vs [2] D Thiem