Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime each have demons to contend with when they step onto the court at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Monday.
A win for Rublev on Monday would send him to a 10th Grand Slam quarterfinal, where he’ll look to snap an 0-for-9 streak that has haunted his career.
Rublev has spent years as a top 10 player, and he’s won two Masters 1000 titles, but he’s never had his breakthrough moment at a major.
The Russian likely won’t get a better chance than this to get off the schneid, as his potential opponents in the quarters would be Alex de Minaur or Leandro Riedi.
Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, went to the semifinals at the 2021 U.S. Open as a 21-year-old, a performance that got tongues wagging that the Montreal native was going to be a part of the contingent of players that would carry the torch after the Big 3 retired.
Auger-Aliassime’s career has been stop and start since then, plagued by injuries and inconsistent tennis.
The Canadian’s attacking tools, notably his serve, are elite, but his all-around game never caught up.
That’s turned him into a high-ceiling, low-floor player who can beat anybody on his day — as we saw in his win over No. 3 Alexander Zverev last round — but also loses matches to inferior opponents.
Rublev can spiral during a match, too, but his multifaceted skill set seems to be a good match for Auger-Aliassime’s aggressive style.
Rublev and Auger-Aliassime have met eight times in their careers, with the Russian taking seven wins.
We’ll back the more consistent player as a slight favorite on Monday.
The Play: Rublev -140 (bet365)
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.