The day’s most marquee matchup sees Andrey Rulbev, a five-time champion in this shortened season, take on three-time Major champion Stan Wawrinka.
In a draw that has already seen many upsets, there’s only one other third round match between seeded players. That will feature 2019 US Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev and Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur. Top-seeded Rafael Nadal and fourth-seeded Sascha Zverev will also be in action on Thursday. And Diego Schwartzman is two wins away from qualifying for the ATP Finals, or will qualify if Pablo Carreno Busta loses his match today against Norbert Gombos.
Andrey Rublev (5) vs. Stan Wawrinka (12)
What a year this has been for Andrey Rublev. Despite five months of the season getting canceled due to the pandemic, the 23-year-old Russian has claimed five titles in 12 events played. He arrives to the court today on an 11-match winning streak, having not lost since Roland Garros. By contrast, Wawrinka came into Paris on a two-match losing streak. And it’s been three-and-a-half years since Stan won an ATP title. While Wawrinka easily prevailed their only previous meeting, that was almost five years ago, well before Rublev rounded into the top player he is today. The question is when will all the tennis he’s played catch up with Andrey? If yesterday is any indication, he’s feeling quite fresh. Rublev dropped only three games in dispatching of Radu Albot on Tuesday. Based on his current level of confidence, and how punishing his groundstrokes can be, I like Rublev’s chances to extend his winning streak to 12.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Alex de Minaur (16). Medvedev has claimed both their previous matches, which were contested on hard courts in 2018.
Rafael Nadal (1) vs. Jordan Thompson. Both men required three sets to advance yesterday, against Feliciano Lopez and Borna Coric, respectively. This will be their first career meeting.
Sascha Zverev (4) vs. Adrian Mannarino. Zverev is 4-0 against the 32-year-old Frenchman, which includes two hard court victories since the tour restart.
Diego Schwartzman (6) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Q). Schwartzman is 2-0 this year against the Spaniard on hard courts, including just two weeks ago in Cologne.
Full order of play is here.