Not the kind of situation we like

Rublev is potentially injured/hampered, so what do we do then?

I thought Rublev was sick in his first round against Borges, he was sulking and wasn’t even getting angry, which is surprising coming from him. He let the second set go 6–1 and seemed to be heading for a loss, but Borges completely let him back in and Rublo pulled through. In the end it turned out to be an injury, but we don’t know exactly where. Apparently it’s more in the neck/on the shoulder because he was hampered on serve and after rallies. From what he says, he played under painkillers and didn’t really know how he actually felt after his win; it’s tricky to gauge given how little info we have.

Without the injury, it was all there in terms of his level in the match, and slow clay is perfect for him, much more than for Bergs in my opinion, since the Belgian forces things a lot and his forehand is a bit sluggish at times. He just beat Mannarino and he’s having a blast in doubles with Sinner, the vibe is good and at a Masters 1000 we know he often plays better than elsewhere, so I’m wary of him even if for me the match depends entirely on Rublev. On the other hand, I don’t see how you can bet on him at 1.47 with the doubt that he might be injured tomorrow.