The 2021 St. Petersburg Open will commence from October 25 and will feature Andrey Rublev as the top seed. Other notable names include Denis Shapovalov, Aslan Karatsev and Karen Khachanov.
Tournament Details:
- Tournament: St. Petersburg Open 2021
- Date: October 25- October 31, 2021
- Number of Entrants: 28 (Singles), 16 (Doubles)
- Venue: St. Petersburg, Russia
- Surface: Hard Court
- Prize Money: $863,705
- Defending champion: Andrey Rublev
Top Seeds at the St. Petersburg Open
- Andrey Rublev
- Denis Shapovalov
- Roberto Bautista Agut
- Aslan Karatsev
- Taylor Fritz
- Karen Khachanov
- Alexander Bublik
- Sebastian Korda
Men’s Singles Draw Preview and Prediction
Top Half
Home favorite Andrey Rublev will headline the top half of the draw and receives a first round bye. He will open his campaign with either Serbian Laslo Djere and Ilya Ivashka. Rublev is drawn alongside 8th seed Sebastian Korda who opens against wild card Nino Serdarusic. The winner will face a qualifier in the second round and could face Rublev in the quarterfinal.
Third seed Roberto Bautista Agut will face either a qualifier or Mackenzie McDonald in the Round of 16 after receiving a first round bye. In form Karen Khachanov will face Adrian Mannarino in the opener and will take on the winner of Marin Cilic vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the Round of 16. Khachanov and Bautista Agut are expected to meet in the quarterfinal.
First semifinal prediction: Andrey Rublev vs Karen Khachanov
Bottom Half
Canadian Denis Shapovalov will headline the bottom half of the draw and will face either Pablo Andujar or Federico Delbonis in the second round. He is drawn opposite 7th seed Alexander Bublik who takes on Evgeny Tyurnev. Australian James Duckworth and German Jan-Lennard Struff are also in the same quarter of the draw. Bublik and Shapovalov are expected to lock horns in the quarterfinal.
4th seed Aslan Karatsev receives a first round bye and could face John Millman in the Round of 16. Indian Wells semifinalist Taylor Fritz opens his campaign against a qualifier in the first round and will face either Pedro Martinez or Tommy Paul in the second round. Karatsev is expected to face Fritz in the last 8.
Second semifinal prediction: Aslan Karatsev vs Denis Shapovalov
Semifinals
Top seed Andrey Rublev will face fellow countryman Karen Khachanov in the first semifinal. Rublev has tasted success at the same event last year and will once again fancy his chances against Khachanov. The Olympic silver medallist is in good form off late and will once again rely on his serve against Rublev.
In the second semifinal, Aslan Karatsev will lock horns against Denis Shapovalov. The Russian thrives on home soil and would like to reach back-to-back finals on home soil in two weeks. Karatsev likes to hit big from the baseline while Shapovalov creates difficult angles from the backhand side. Although the Canadian is ranked higher, Karatsev may just topple him to reach another final.
St. Petersburg Open Final prediction: Andrey Rublev vs Aslan Karatsev
Final
Defending champion Andrey Rublev will battle against Aslan Karatsev in an All-Russian final on Russian soil. Both players know each other’s game well and push each other to the absolute limit. It could be anyone’s game but Rublev may just have enough fuel in the tank to defend his title from last year.
Champion: Andrey Rublev
Also read: ATP Vienna 2021: Men’s Singles Draw Preview and Prediction for Erste Bank Open
