Are you ready for the blockbuster clash at the Court Patrice Dominguez? After a first-round bye, Russian star, Andrey Rublev is all set to face America’s Christopher Eubanks in the R16 of the Open Occitanie. Rublev is currently on a five-match losing streak and guess what? He has already made two early exits from his previous tournaments in 2025. So, he’ll be keen to bounce back from this horrid run and make a winning start to his campaign in Montpellier.

However, it won’t be easy beating someone like Eubanks who has already clinched a dominating victory in the first round (R32). Who has the edge though, in this exciting encounter?

Andrey Rublev vs. Christopher Eubanks: Preview

Andrey Rublev made quite a few decent runs last year. He started his season by winning the 2024 Hong Kong Open. After that, he made a few long runs in Rotterdam, Qatar, and Dubai before clinching his second title of the 2024 season at the Madrid Open. In Madrid, he defeated Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final by 4-6,7-5,7-5. Andrey Rublev also reached the final of the Canadian Open last year, but he failed to deliver on that occasion. Overall, his performance was quite impressive in the previous season, but this season, he’s yet to open his account. Rublev will be entering this contest following his first-round defeat to Joao Fonseca (BRA) at the 2025 AO.

On the other hand, Christopher Eubanks will be entering this match following his impressive 7-5, 6-4 win over Russia’s Alibek Kachmazov in the R32 of the Open Occitanie. If we take a look at his performances in the last season, Eubanks reached the QF of the Halle Open and then went on to reach the semis at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. He even won a title at the Challenger Knoxville, US! However, his most memorable moment from the 2024 season was making his Olympic debut for his nation. In 2025, he started the season with an impressive QF run at the Challenger Canberra, AU. However, he failed to qualify for the main event at the 2025 AO. It’ll be interesting to see how far Eubanks goes at the Open Occitanie.

Rublev vs. Eubanks: Head-to-Head

Andrey Rublev and Christopher Eubanks have faced each other only once in their careers so far. The Russian had the last laugh in their first meeting, so currently their H2H record is at 1-0 in favor of Rublev.

• 2024 Australian Open R64: Rublev 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Prediction: Rublev will win this match in straight sets

Although Andrey Rublev is yet to win a match this season, we must not forget that even Christopher Eubanks’ record against the Top 10 players isn’t too impressive either. The 28-year-old has lost his last five matches against Top 10 players and has dropped out of the Top 100 of the rankings as well.

Talking about their playing styles, Christopher Eubanks’ serve is one of his lethal weapons. The 6ft 7 inches tall lad is known for his big serves. Eubanks loves playing an aggressive brand of tennis and he usually never misses a chance to go to the nets and steal points from his opponents. So, Rublev needs to be a bit careful about this, and he must not let Christopher Eubanks play his natural game.

On the other side, Andrey Rublev is an offensive baseliner with a big forehand and he also has a dangerous and consistent two-handed backhand. His running forehand is particularly lethal because of his consistency and comfort with the shot. However, despite his power, the 27-year-old is often hyper-aggressive and can enter situations where he makes consecutive unforced errors during his matches. So, the Russian star needs to be a bit watchful on this in this epic battle. If he keeps a check on his unforced errors we think, this match can wrap up pretty quickly. So, we’re expecting Rublev to put up a strong performance against Eubanks on Wednesday.