French Open 2022, 2nd round, Thursday, 26.05.2022
Big problems in the first set including a freak-out – Andrey Rublev hasn’t really arrived in Paris yet. In the 2nd round, the Russian wants to show himself from a completely different side and save his energy with the fastest possible number.
His opponent is not an easy one, but the bookmakers still see him as a clear outsider. In my Rublev Delbonis tip, I will take a closer look at the chances of both players and explain why I do not expect an outright victory.
Losing a tiebreak in the first set really made Andrey Rublev jump out of his skin a few days ago. Soon-woo Kwon let himself be celebrated while the favourite shot a ball against his bench in anger.
It would not have taken much for him to hit a helper, so the officials left it at a warning. After the match, Rublev apologised for his lapse and won the match 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
The South Korean gave Rublev a tough task, after all, the world number seven was able to fend off all break points against him. That he could not complete his first round without problems was actually foreseeable.
At the Italian Open a few weeks ago, he lost outright to Filip Krajinovic at the start of the tournament, and he had not been this weak for a long time. Although the Russian has already won three titles in 2022, not everything is going smoothly by any means.
Defeats against outsiders can happen, but when he meets the really big opponents, he often loses out anyway. He had his first duel with Federico Delbonis, his upcoming rival in Paris, last year.
At Wimbledon, he came from behind to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. For Andrey Rublev, there is also the question of what face he will show in the French capital. In 2021, he was defeated by Jan-Lennard Struff in his opening match here.
For Federico Delbonis there is nothing to lose on Thursday, but a lot to gain. The Argentine put in a great performance in his first match, picking up a 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 win over Adrian Mannarino.
Quite surprising, because in the last tournaments he almost always retired directly after a match. Delbonis has been playing at the French Open since 2010, but he has never been as successful as he was last year.
He defeated Radu Albot, Pablo Andujar and Fabio Fognini and suddenly found himself in the last 16. Here he showed an appealing performance against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, but still lost in four sets.
The left-hander certainly has what it takes to give the big boys a leg up, but he can hardly assert himself against the world’s elite. Can he perhaps benefit from Rublev’s fickleness on Thursday?
My Rublev Delboni tip
There is no way I can doubt that Andrey Rublev is the favourite in his 2nd round match after my analysis. However, it became clear that his problems from Rome will also come into play in France.
But if the Argentine rises above himself, he can definitely use Rublev’s lack of consistency to his advantage. My tip is therefore:
We see more than 29.5 Games!
