Both Andrey Rublev and Alexander Bublik are struggling right now, and one will be out of the Doha tournament in the first round. Meanwhile, Hamad Medjedovic tries to stay hot against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
(5) Andrey Rublev vs. Alexander Bublik
Rublev and Bublik will be squaring off for the first time since Rublev’s infamous default, which also came in the Middle East. Last year in Dubai he was disqualified from their semifinal match for berating a linesman with Bublik leading 6-5 in the third set. Rublev still leads the head-to-head series 4-3 (4-2 on the main tour), including an epic five-set victory at Wimbledon in 2023.
Both players need a win–several, in fact–in the worst way at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. Rublev is 4-4 this season, 4-7 in his last 11 matches dating back to last year, and has not defeated anyone ranked better than No. 50 in the world since Basel in October. Fortunately for the Russian, Bublik has been even worse. The 48th-ranked Kazakh is 4-15 in his last 19 matches dating back to Wimbledon. Whereas Rublev at least seems motivated to get himself back on track, Bublik looks entirely disinterested these days.
Pick: Rublev in 2
(6) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (SE) Hamad Medjedovic
Medjedovic is coming off an impressive run last week in Marseille, where he reached his second ATP final before falling to Ugo Humbert. That earned the 21-year-old Serb direct entry into Doha since he was still in Marseille when qualifying began at this 500-point tournament.
Up first for Medjedovic is a second meeting with Tsitsipas, who won their only previous encounter 7-6(6), 6-3 last summer on the red clay of Gstaad. Like Rublev and Bublik, Tsitsipas has not yet found the range in 2025. The 11th-ranked Greek is 5-5 and most recently fell to Mattia Bellucci in the Rotterdam quarterfinals. Still, this is a good spot for Tsitsipas. Making a transition from indoors in Europe to outdoors in the Middle East with only one day off in between matches is a rough proposition for Medjedovic.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 2
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