Dubai R3 previews and predictions: Rublev vs. Fritz, Khachanov vs. Chardy

Fellow Russians and frequent doubles partners Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov will be back in Dubai action on Wednesday. Rublev is facing Taylor Fritz in the third round, while Khachanov is going up against Jeremy Chardy.

(15) Taylor Fritz vs. (2) Andrey Rublev

Rublev remains one of the hottest players in the sport–a streak dating back to the start of the 2020–heading into the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday. The eighth-ranked Russian led the ATP Tour with five titles last season and he already has one in 2021 (Rotterdam) to along with Russia’s triumph at the ATP Cup. Rublev lost in last week’s Doha semifinals to Roberto Bautista Agut, but he opened in Dubai with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Emil Ruusuvuori on Tuesday.

Up next for the second seed is a third career contest against Fritz. They have split their two previous encounters; Fritz won 6-4, 7-6(4) at the 2018 Indian Wells Masters before Rublev prevailed 4-2, 1-4, 3-4, 4-3, 4-2 at the NextGen ATP Finals later that season. Fritz advanced in Dubai with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili, avenging a Doha result that propelled Basilashvili to the title. The 30th-ranked American is in fine form, but that was a tough opening match on Tuesday and Rublev is just on a different level right now.

Pick: Rublev in 2

Jeremy Chardy vs. (8) Karen Khachanov

Another player in outstanding form at the moment is Chardy, who already owns 10 match wins in 2021–already five times the amount he accrued in 2020. From out of nowhere, the 53rd-ranked Frenchman advanced to semifinals in Antalya and at a 250 in Melbourne before reaching the Rotterdam quarters as a qualifier. So far in Dubai he has ousted Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Alex de Minaur in straight sets.

Up next for Chardy is a second career meeting with Khachanov, who got the job done 7-6(0), 7-6(5) at the 2019 Beijing tournament. The 22nd-ranked Russian has not been great this season and he needed a third-set tiebreaker to hold off Alexei Popyrin on Tuesday. Chardy will have benefited from a day off following his pair of three-setters, and this is another good opportunity for the veteran to pick up yet another win in 2021.

Pick: Chardy in 3