The third stop of the ATP 500 series will be the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where Roger Federer is gunning for his 100th career title. Federer is a seven-time champion at the event and he will be joined by fellow top ten players Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic. Day one of the tournament promises plenty of intriguing action. But who will come through to book their place in the second round.
Roger Federer vs Philipp Kohlschreiber
Head-to-head: Federer 13-0 Kohlschreiber
Last meeting: ATP Rotterdam 2018 (Federer won 7-6 7-5)
As mentioned above, Roger Federer is still seeking his 100th career title. Since winning in Basel at the back end of last year, the Swiss has found it difficult to reach that milestone. He has suffered some surprising losses, most recently at the 2019 Australian Open where he lost to Next Gen star Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round. Federer hasn’t played a competitive match since that defeat and he has dropped to seventh in the world rankings.
But back at one of the most successful events of his career, he could claim a confidence-building win. The Swiss usually performs well on the quick courts in Dubai, although he has also had some shockers over the years, including a first-round loss to Evgeny Donskoy in 2017. However, he owns an incredible 13-0 record against Philipp Kohlschreiber and despite not playing for a month he should have enough in his locker to edge this one in three sets.
Prediction: Federer in 3.
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Ramkumar Ramanathan
Head-to-head: First meeting
Roberto Bautista Agut will open up his title defense against the wildcard from India Ramkumar Ramanathan. The Spaniard has made a strong start to 2019 with a title win in Qatar and a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, his first at one of the Grand Slams. Ramanathan has not managed to qualify into the main draw of any ATP tour-level event this year, although he also received a wildcard in Pune. The gulf in class between these players is huge and it is hard to see Ramanathan being able to bridge it.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 2.
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Milos Raonic vs Jan-Lennard Struff
Head-to-head: Raonic 1-0 Struff
Last meeting: Wimbledon 2017 (Raonic won 7-6 6-2 7-6)
Milos Raonic has made a fine start to 2019 considering his injury issues during the last 18 months. But he will have his work cut out against the powerful Jan-Lennard Struff. Though the Canadian is a former top 10 player, he seems to have lost a yard or two since his return despite his efforts to improve his fitness. Struff, meanwhile, has come close to scoring some big wins, including in Sofia where he lost a very tight match to Stefanos Tsitsipas a few weeks ago, and he could be a handful for Raonic here. In a match that seems certain to feature at least one tiebreak, expect Struff to upset Raonic.
Prediction: Struff in 3
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Karen Khachanov vs Nikoloz Basilashvili
Head-to-head: Khachanov 2-2 Basilashvili
Last meeting: ATP Istanbul 2017 (Khachanov won 6-3 6-7 6-1)
Khachanov would have won this match fairly easily at the end of last year. However, that is not the case at this moment. The Russian, who glides around the court superbly for a man of his stature, has had a very lackluster 2019 so far. He lost in Sofia and Rotterdam in the first round, falling to wild card Tallon Griekspoor, then ranked 211th in the world, at the latter. If Khachanov has serious ambitions of winning the big events in future, he will need to turn this period of poor form around.
Nikoloz Basilashvili a little over a year ago was struggling to win a main draw match. But, he went on to have his best year on tour with title wins in Hamburg and Beijing, as well as running Rafael Nadal close at the US Open. The Georgian is one of the most underrated players on tour and, on his day, can produce some great tennis. Now inside the top 20, he looks to have a real chance of rising higher still. Both men may have benefited from a longer break after Melbourne, but instead chose to compete. But expect Khachanov, who is in dire need of a win, to be able to tame Basilashvili’s power and reach the second round.
Prediction: Khachanov in 2.
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