This has been a strange old season for combustible Russian Andrey Rublev.
2025 ATP Tour
ATP 500
Barcelona Open
Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Round of 16 Matches- 17th April 2025
Andrey Rublev (4) 0.94 vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 0.83
He has been eliminated in the opening round of five events this year and brought a three-match losing streak into the European clay-court season. He has just struggled to settle into his usual rhythm, padding his stats with a title-winning run in Qatar (the first time that he won the same event twice in his career). He started off his clay-court campaign in middling fashion, beating Monfils before being trounced by Fils in Monte-Carlo. He got his Barcelona campaign off to a solid start, mauling Jesper de Jong 6-1, 6-3. He was impressive from the back of the court, striking 23 winners to 16 unforced errors in a dominant display. Rublev has been an excellent clay-court exponent throughout his career, winning both of his Masters 1000 titles on the sticky stuff (Monte Carlo in 2023 and Madrid last year). The slower clay conditions give him ample time to set up that sledgehammer forehand.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is enjoying a renaissance this season, improving to 19-9 for the year with his straightforward round of 32 win over veteran Stan Wawrinka. Fokina’s athleticism and consistency was just too much for Wawrinka (who hit a stunning 30 unforced errors). Davidovich Fokina endured a tough 2024 campaign but looks revitalized this season, reaching finals in Delray Beach and Acapulco. The 2022 Monte-Carlo finalist once again impressed in the principality, reaching just his 3rd career Masters 1000 semifinal last week (losing to eventual champ Carlos Alcaraz in a keenly contested semi). He seems laser-focused this year, ready to finally fulfill his obvious potential. An aggressive and entertaining player, Davidovich Fokina is celebrated for possessing one of the most versatile and destructive drop-shots in the men’s game.
The Verdict: Davidovich Fokina to win in three sets at 3.2- Rublev has absolutely dominated this rivalry, comfortably leading the Spaniard 5-0 in their head-to-head meetings. This is Davidovich’s time to finally correct that alarming disparity. The Spaniard is in superior form and if fresh off a statement semifinal run in Monte-Carlo. Rublev was blown away by Fils’ aggressive approach and could face a similar fate against the Spaniard.
