Dubai R2 previews and predictions: Kohlschreiber vs. Coric, Pospisil vs. Baghdatis

Fellow veterans Philipp Kohlschreiber and Marcos Baghdatis will continue their Dubai campaigns during second-round action on Wednesday. They are set for respective meetings with unseeded opponents Borna Coric and Vasek Pospisil.

(8) Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Borna Coric

Kohlschreiber and Coric will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they battle for a place in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday. Suddenly heating up after a slow start to the season that was due in part to bad draws in both Auckland and Melbourne, Kohlschreiber is coming off a quarterfinal showing in Sofia and a semifinal performance in Rotterdam. The 28th-ranked German upset Marin Cilic in Rotterdam before succumbing to Gael Monfils. He maintained his fine form during first-round action this week, taking care of Marsel Ilhan 6-1, 7-5 on Tuesday.

Coric’s 2016 campaign is a mirror image to that of Kohlschreiber. The 19-year-old Croat burst out of the gates on fire, finishing runner-up in Chennai to Stan Wawrinka. But he has not won back-to-back matches since that event and even lost in three consecutive first rounds. Coric, who registers at 38th in the world, is a modest 6-5 on the season following a 6-4, 6-4 opening-round defeat of Jiri Vesely. As he often is at this point in his career, Coric will be on the defensive for the majority of this match. Growing in confidence, Kohlschreiber should eventually get the best of what is likely to be an entertaining baseline battle.

Pick: Kohlschreiber in 3

[polldaddy poll=9320818]

Vasek Pospisil vs. Marcos Baghdatis

Pospisil and Baghdatis will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the third time since the start of last summer when they meet again on Wednesday. Baghdatis prevailed 6-4, 7-6(5) in the Atlanta quarterfinals before Pospisil exacted revenge in the form of a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3 victory in Kuala Lumpur.

This is already one of the rare events in which Pospisil has progressed further in singles than in doubles. The 45th-ranked Canadian outlasted Lucas Pouille 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 on Monday before losing his doubles opener with Nenad Zimonjic. Baghdatis booked his spot in the last 16 by taking out No. 5 seed Viktor Troicki 7-6(2), 6-2. The 57th-ranked Cypriot has now advanced out of round one in three straight tournaments. With a confident ball-striker on the other side of the net, Pospisil will have to shorten points by moving into the forecourt. But that is not something he is often willing to do despite his stellar volleying skills.

Pick: Baghdatis in 3

[polldaddy poll=9320815]