A full-slate of second-round action in Doha is set for Wednesday, with Alex de Minaur and Daniil Medvedev among the headliners. They are going up against Botic van de Zandschulp and Zizou Bergs, respectively.
(Q) Botic van de Zandschulp vs. (2) Alex de Minaur
De Minaur and Van de Zandschulp will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the second time this season when they meet again in round two of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Wednesday. Both of their previous encounters have gone De Minaur’s way; 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 at the 2022 Davis Cup Finals and 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 at last month’s Australian Open.
There is no reason to expect anything different in this one. Van de Zandschulp did well to win his first-round match on Tuesday, but it came at the expense of world No. 267 Abudallah Shelbayh. The 87th-ranked Dutchman previously had not won a single main-draw match in 2025. It’s a much different story for De Minaur, who is 13-2 this season after disposing of Roman Safiullin 6-1, 7-5 in the opening round. This should be one-way traffic for the eighth-ranked Aussie.
Pick: De Minaur in 2
Zizou Bergs vs. (4) Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev needs a big week in the worst way and he got off to a great start with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over fellow Russian and defending champion Karen Khachanov on Tuesday evening. The world No. 7 had not defeated anyone ranked better than No. 46 this season and was 5-7 in his last 12 matches heading into Doha. Although the sample size of success could not be smaller, a single match can turn things around–especially with the way Medvedev played and also competed after dropping the first set against Khachanov.
Up next is a first-ever meeting with Bergs, who is playing the best tennis of his career. The 58th-ranked Belgian is 11-4 this season with a runner-up performance in Auckland, a semifinal showing last week in Marseille, and a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over Roberto Bautista Agut on Tuesday. That’s a lot of tennis in a short amount of time for Bergs, and fatigue can be a factor in a baseline battle against Medvedev amidst slow conditions. Look for the favorite to build on his win over Khachanov–but it probably won’t be easy with an in-form opponent on the other side of the net.
Pick: Medvedev in 3
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