Russians Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov will kick off their Dubai campaigns as first-round action wraps up on Tuesday. They have tough tests on their hands in the form of Dan Evans and Alex de Minaur, respectively.
Karen Khachanov vs. Alex de Minaur
Khachanov and de Minaur will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday afternoon. De Minaur won their only previous meeting 6-4, 0-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 at the 2020 U.S. Open. The 32nd-ranked Aussie should feel good about his chances of scoring another win over Khachanov, as he heads into Dubai with a 7-3 record in 2022. That includes a fourth-round effort at the Australian Open (lost to Jannik Sinner) and a quarterfinal finish in Rotterdam (lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas).
After falling to Robert Bautista Agut in a semifinal thriller this past week in Doha, Khachanov will be making a bit of a quick turnaround. The world No. 26 has never played especially well in Dubai, where is 4-5 lifetime with zero wins over anyone in the top 80. This is a good opportunity to de Minaur to pull off a minor upset.
Pick: De Minaur in 3
Dan Evans vs. (2) Andrey Rublev
It can be argued that this is Rublev’s favorite time of year. The seventh-ranked Russian captured two titles in the first month of 2020, went title-semi-semi in Rotterdam, Doha, and Dubai last season, and now he is coming off a victory in Marseille. That was preceded by a semifinal showing in Rotterdam, where he fell to Felix Auger-Aliassime–whom Rublev beat in Sunday’s Marseille championship match.
The No. 2 seed won’t particularly like this draw, however. Up first for him on Tuesday is Evans, who has won two in a row in the head-to-head series to take a 3-2 lead overall (2-1 at the ATP main-draw level). That is highlighted by a victory in Dubai, where he upset Rublev 6-2, 7-6(9) in the 2020 quarterfinals. Evans has cooled off since an undefeated ATP Cup, however, with setbacks against a struggling Aslan Karatsev and against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina last week in Doha. The 28th-ranked Brit also took a grand total of just six games against Auger-Aliassime at the Australian Open. When Rublev is on a roll he is difficult to stop, and right now he is the one with all of the momentum.
Pick: Rublev in 2
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