Andrey Rublev struggled to get through his round-of-16 match at the 2026 Nordea Open, and one might have logically assumed his quarterfinal match against Sebastian Baez, a clay-court specialist, would be far more difficult. It wasn't.
Rublev, a 2023 winner at the tournament in Bastad, Sweden, played with elite precision, seemingly taking advantage of any chance he had to take a point. He won the first set 6-1 by dominating rallies and not giving Baez any real hope.
Even when Baez won a point, he probably felt as if he needed to hit an extra shot or two just to do so. Rublev wasn't simply playing well; he was performing at near his best level. On clay in that form, he could challenge anyone, including the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Andrey Rublev runs roughshod over Sebastian Baez at the Nordeo Open
Rublev was also outthinking Baez. In the second set, with the Argentinian barely hanging on and serving at 30-40 down 2-4, Baez missed on his first serve. On his second, Rublev stepped inside the court at the perfect time and blasted a forehand winner. It was an example of how he had played the entire match.
The Russian was probably in a bit of a rush to finish off the match for a couple of reasons. One was that a storm was brewing not far away from the venue, and he didn't want play to be stopped because of lightning when he was playing so well.
The other reason was that his semifinal opponent, Alejandro Tabilo, will have a full day's rest ahead of the meeting. Tabilo was set to face Thiago Agustin Tirante in his quarterfinal match, but the Argentinian withdrew, and the Chilean won by walkover.
Had Andrey Rublev been forced to go three sets against Baez, he would have been a bit more tired for the semifinal match. With an easy victory, the Russian will be as rested as if he had a practice session. Maybe even more so because Baez was so overwhelmed that he offered little resistance against Rublev.
Should he reach the final, Rublev could potentially face the two-seed Luciano Darderi. That would make for must-watch tennis for fans.
