Day 9 - Under the lights: A rested Rublev

 - Alix Ramsay

Jannik Sinner (1) vs Andrey Rublev (17): Monday 2 June, Court Philippe-Chatrier, not before 20:15

We are not billing this as an upset alert but let us look at the facts: Jannik Sinner is the world No.1 by some considerable margin (he has won the last two Grand Slam titles). Of his 19 career titles, 17 of them have been won on hard courts.

On the cement, he has been all but unstoppable for the past couple of years. Last year he won seven hard court trophies (two of them Grand Slams) and then added the Davis Cup to that tally.

During that spectacular season, he lost only three matches on a hard court – two to Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing and Indian Wells and one to (you might see where we are going with this) Andrey Rublev in the steamy heat of Montreal.

On clay, Sinner appears slightly more mortal (but only just) so does this mean that Rublev could do it and unseat the mighty Jannik? Overall, history suggests not.

Their head-to-head stands at 6-3 in Sinner’s favour and since the summer of 2022, when the Italian began his evolution into the player we know today, it stands at 4-1 in his favour. But in professional sport, you just never know.

It is not so much that Andrey has been flying under the radar in the past few days but, rather, that he has become the invisible man: no one has seen him since Thursday.

He received a walkover into the fourth round when Arthur Fils withdrew from the tournament with a back injury and his last competitive outing was against the Australian Adam Walton; he rattled through that encounter in straight sets.

This gave Sinner pause for thought. He knows Andrey of old – this will be their 10th meeting in five years, after all – and he knows what a talent, albeit an unpredictable talent, the No.17 seed can be. And now that talent has had a few days off.

“Andrey is an incredible player,” Sinner said in his own, quiet way. “I have to be focused. He's rested.”

Neither man has been truly tested so far so there is little by way of a form guide going into this match. It is probably best not to hold your breath for an upset but, on the other hand, do not be completely surprised if Rublev were to do it again.