Taylor Fritz left Canadian Open star fuming and throwing bottles in the bathroom

Andrey Rublev will hope to avoid a repeat of his private outburst when he next faces American tennis star Taylor Fritz. The pair are set to face off in the Canadian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday.

World No.11 Rublev finished runner-up at last year's tournament and reached the last eight with a three-set victory over Spain's Alejandro Davidovich at the weekend. Fritz overcame Jiri Lehecka on Monday to set up his clash with Rublev. The two players have faced each other nine times, with Fritz edging their head-to-head record 5-4. However, Rublev will hope to keep a cooler head than he did during their semi-final match at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2023.

The 27-year-old found himself frustrated after losing the opening set to Fritz 7-5 in Monte Carlo and headed off the court. Post-match, Rublev explained how an angry outburst during his bathroom break helped change his mindset.

"When I went to the bathroom, I get p*****. Throw a couple bottles of water," Rublev told Tennis.com. "And then I say, 'Good job, your head is so good. Because of your head again, one more semifinal you lost.' And then I start to play better."

Rublev's harsh words for himself had the desired effect. Once the game resumed, Rublev took the next set 6-1 before winning the third 6-3 to seal the match against Fritz. In the final, the Russian ace triumphed over Holger Rune to clinch his first ATP 1000 title.

Rublev will have to be at his best to earn a quarter-final victory over Fritz in Canada. The world No. 4 recently made it to the Wimbledon semi-finals and was runner-up at the US Open and ATP Finals last year.

While Fritz and Rublev may be rivals on the court, Fritz's influencer girlfriend Morgan Riddle shared her admiration for Rublev during last year's Australian Open. He caught Riddle's attention after stopping play to help guide a cricket off the court safely during his match against Sebastian Korda.

It was reported by News.com.au that Riddle had posted a video of her and Fritz watching the situation unfold on social media, with Fritz stating: "That's a cricket - just kill it dude." However, Riddle stuck up for Rublev: "Taylor, Stop, don't say that. He's being a sweet angel," she said. However, the couple laughed as Rublev struggled to get the insect under control: "Now he's just like f****** throwing it around - he doesn't give a f***," Fritz joked.

Their most recent match occurred in the 2024 Madrid Open semi-finals, which Rublev won on his way to clinching his second-ever ATP 1000 title. He has defeated Fritz during both his tournament wins and will be hoping for another good omen as he aims to go one step further than last year's Canadian Open final defeat.

Meanwhile, despite his high world ranking, Fritz is still waiting to add to his sole ATP 1000 triumph at Indian Wells in 2022. Fritz's recent win over Lehecka required tie-breaks in each of the three sets and the American explained how he held his nerve in the decider.

"When it came down to that tie-break, I really bailed myself out with a lot of first serves," he admitted. "And then just trying to put balls in the court and not try any shots that, despite how badly I wanted to try to be aggressive, just be disciplined and just make the balls that I felt like I could make."