Reaching the quarterfinals of the Italian Open deserves celebration. But for Andrey Rublev, it was anything but when he found out his opponent in the last eight in Rome. From wishing for a different opponent to setting a better standard for himself, he went through an emotional rollercoaster at the prospect of facing Sinner.

Playing Jannik Sinner, who is on a 26-match overall win streak in 2026, having won titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Madrid, is a scary prospect, and Rublev was honest about it. After his fourth-round win, Rublev was in an interview on the Tennis Channel desk and addressed the Sinner question with sporting humor.

“I’m fine. I’m not excited, I’m not bad. I’m fine. If you ask me if I prefer to play someone else, of course, I prefer to play someone else. But if I would like to challenge myself against Jannik, yes, as well. I would like to challenge myself against Jannik,” said Rublev

Rublev faces his toughest challenge to date as he gears up to take on Sinner in the latter’s home court. Sinner is on a hot 31-game winning streak at ATP Masters and is tied with Novak Djokovic, who had a 31-game winning run as well. Also on a 26-match overall winning streak, Rublev is hoping the law of averages catches up with the Italian.

The two of them have met ten times prior, with Sinner having a 7-3 lead in the head-to-head. Rublev has historically struggled in matchups with the top 5 and boasts a poor 13-31 record. Even though the odds are stacked against him, Rublev can take inspiration from his own performance in the previous round and use it in the upcoming clash.

Rublev has been in fine form at the Foro Italico himself, starting his campaign with straight-set victories over the likes of Miomir Kecmanovic and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The 12th seed faced a tough challenge against Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili in the fourth round, but he recovered after losing the first set and dominated the match.

“I Was Lucky That I Was Able to Turn Around the Match,”- Andrey Rublev Talks About His Struggles in His Fourth-Round Match in Rome

Rublev did not have the best of starts in his match against Basilashvili, as the Russian struggled with his movement on the clay and his serve looked vulnerable. Despite him saving 8 break points, his serve was broken once, and that was an opportunity enough for his opponent to take the set. When he went down 0-2 in the second set, it looked like Rublev’s tournament was over, but he gradually built confidence and steadied his game. He did not shy away from the fact that he was lucky to turn the tables on this occasion.

As the match went on, the quality gap between the two players widened, especially in the third set, where Rublev got his serve rhythm back and was penetrative on return, helped by Basilashvili’s seven double faults in the deciding set. The match result will have given the Russian player a lot of confidence, which will be vital for him when he takes on Sinner in his next match.

Rublev has been in fine form on clay this year, winning 8 of the 11 clay-court matches, with his best showing a runner-up finish at the Barcelona Open, where he lost to Arthur Fils in the final. Even though Sinner is the overwhelming favorite, Rublev is expected to put his best foot forward, making the match competitive.