Tennis

Rinky Hijikata vs Andrey Rublev Preview & Tips - Rublev to breeze past Hijikata at the Hangzhou Open

By Ben Darvill

1 hour ago

Ben Darvill 1 hour ago

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Andrey Rublev has won 12 of his 21 on hard courts this season (L9)
Rinky Hijikata has lost 25 of his 58 matches this season (W33)
Preview, stats & head to head

Andrey Rublev (Getty Images)

Rinky Hijikata vs Andrey Rublev Preview & Tips
Head To Head
Rinky Hijikata Form
Andrey Rublev Form

Rinky Hijikata vs Andrey Rublev Preview & Tips

Rinky Hijikata edged past Dalibor Svrcina in the first round in Hangzhou as he secured a battling 7-6 6-4 victory.

Andrey Rublev is looking for a strong performance following a hugely disappointing second round loss at the US Open early in the month.

Rublev has won six of his last 10 matches (L4)

Head To Head

This will be the first time the pair have met in a competitive tennis clash.

Rinky Hijikata Form

Rinky Hijikata was able to put his immediate elimination from the 2026 US Open behind him after he was outplayed by Felix Auger-Aliassime in a 7-5 4-6 6-3 7-5 defeat.

In the first round in Hangzhou, Hijikata needed to be at his best to eventually find his way past Dalibor Svrcina. The pair dropped a game on serve early in the first set and while both traded a pair of breaks in the second set, Hijikata was able to break to go 5-4 up before he closed the match out.

While Hijikata did come out on top, he only managed to secure 40% of the 10 break points on offer. Against Rublev, Hijikata will have to be at his best to get close to his opponent. Five defeats across his last 10 outings is a disappointing return, and I predict that he will slump to another defeat.

Andrey Rublev Form

Like Hijikata, Andrey Rublev was subjected to a dismal campaign at the US Open as he was eliminated in the second round.

A 6-7 6-2 6-4 6-4 defeat to Daniel Merida Aguilar saw Rublev on the backfoot across the second, third and fourth sets. After taking just one of the six break points on offer, Rublev was always going to be in trouble, especially when giving away 11 break points, with his opponent taking five on offer.

Ultimately, Rublev was handed a defeat that he fully deserved. He has had a lot of time to think about this loss, with almost a month passing between his last outing and his clash against Hijikata. While Rublev was not good enough at the US Open, I back him to secure victory in the second round.

Verdict

Rinky Hijikata v Andrey Rublev

I am backing Rublev to secure the win without dropping a set as he eliminates Hijikata in the second round.

Rublev 2-0

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