Alexei Popyrin vs Andrey Rublev Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Monte Carlo Masters

Prediction published on 09/04/2024, 07:36  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 09/04/2024 at 08:36 in ATP Monte Carlo Masters Predictions

Defending champion Andrey Rublev is in action on Tuesday. The sixth seed takes on unseeded Alexei Popyrin for a place in round three of this outdoor clay court tournament. In round three, the scheduled seeded opponent is 11th seed Alex de Minaur. He faces a tough task to retain this Masters 1000 tournament as he could face Novak Djokovic in the last eight and Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals. Rublev is the world number six and tenth in the Live ATP Race  Last year saw him win this title with a win over Holger Rune after losing the first set. The Russian also reached the final of this tournament in 2021. He's won five ATP clay court tournaments with two being won last year. This is his first clay court event of the year. On hard courts he's won one title (in Hong Kong), got to three quarterfinals and one semi-final. He won his only previous match against Popyrin but that was on an indoor hard court.

Alexei Popyrin is 47th in the live rankings but was a career-high 38th earlier this year. The Australian currently sits in 73rd place in the ATP Live Race at the time of writing this preview. He beat qualifiier Corentin Moutet in the first round. It was a tough match though and he had to come from a set down to get the victory. This is his third time in round two of the Monte Carlo Masters but he's never got any further. He'll be hoping for some good form in the lead up to Roland Garros where he's lost in the first round on his last four visits. We tip Rublev to win this match in straight sets.