Rublev vs. De Minaur: head-to-head results

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If you asked me back in 2018, a time when avocado toast was still considered an exciting breakfast choice and when binge-watching Netflix still felt fresh, who would become the ATP’s next great rivalry, I would've thrown a bunch of names around. Djokovic-Nadal? Too old school. Tsitsipas-Zverev? Not yet, they were still budding stars. But Rublev and De Minaur? Well, that would’ve been like predicting a blockbuster movie starring the sidekicks instead of the leads.

But here we are, looking back at a rivalry that felt like Jordan vs. Bird, but on a tennis court. It’s got the drama, the suspense, and the sheer "I-can’t-take-my-eyes-off-this" aura that you’d want from a top-tier clash.

The Early Days: The Fireworks Begin

Flashback to 2018, and we're in the heart of Washington. Not the political heart, but the tennis one. De Minaur was ranked 72, still very much the young gun from Down Under looking to make a splash, and Rublev at 46 was on the rise, fresh off his previous year’s US Open quarterfinal run. It was the semi-finals, and boy, was it a semi to remember.

Rublev seemed to have the upper hand early on, almost like the high school senior bullying the freshman. But De Minaur, channeling that Australian grit (think Hewitt in his prime, but with a bit more hair), came back from a set down, saving a match point, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with a 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-4 win. And if you didn’t think we had a rivalry on our hands then, you probably also believed 'New Coke' was a good idea.

NextGen Finals: De Minaur's Revenge

Then there was the NextGen Finals. A tournament that was supposed to be a showcase of future talent ended up being a preview of future ATP finals. Rublev and De Minaur danced around the court like two prizefighters, but it was the Aussie, again, who came out on top, although with a slightly bizarre score of 4-1, 3-4(5), 4-1, 4-2. It's like watching an entire season of 'Game of Thrones' and not understanding the plot but loving it anyway.

Monte Carlo Masters: The Clay Battlefield

Roll on to 2022 and enter the clay courts of Monte Carlo, the playground of the tennis elite. By now, Rublev was the hotshot with a ranking of 8, while De Minaur, still lurking in the shadows, was placed 25. Now, if tennis matches were movies, this was an epic three-hour saga. De Minaur took the first set with ease, making Rublev look like a deer in headlights. But, channeling his inner Rocky Balboa, Rublev rallied, winning 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. Rublev's shots were brutal; they had the power of Thor’s hammer, and the precision of a sniper.

Rotterdam Hard Courts: The Upset of the Year

Fast forward to 2023, on Rotterdam’s unforgiving hard courts, and the tale gets juicier. Ranked 5th, Rublev should have had this in the bag. But De Minaur, like that annoying younger brother you can't get rid of, had other plans. The 25th ranked Aussie took the match 6-4, 6-4. I mean, a higher-ranked Rublev losing to De Minaur? That's like watching the '86 Celtics lose to a college team.

All in all, their head-to-head currently stands at 3-1 in favor of De Minaur. It's been a topsy-turvy ride with both players dishing out cinematic performances. With Rublev’s power and De Minaur’s speed, it's like watching Godzilla take on Flash. And if the past is anything to go by, the future promises more epic battles, more drama, and definitely more popcorn-worthy moments. Here's to many more chapters in the Rublev-De Minaur chronicles. Just when you thought tennis rivalries were getting stale, these two show up and make everything feel like a Tarantino movie again.