It is perhaps fitting that the last four men standing at the 2019 ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will each have something to play for in order to make Saturday’s showpiece final even more meaningful. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Gael Monfils are in search of back-to-back ATP titles, with the former set to crack the top 10 for the first time in his career with a win. Roger Federer is a potential history maker as he eyes a 100th ATP title, while Borna Coric, who has been the tiebreak King in Dubai, will hope to continue his recent good record against Federer.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Gael Monfils
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 1-1 Monfils
Last meeting: 2019 Sofia Open (Monfils won 6-3 7-6)
Two men currently in a rich vein of form will clash for a spot in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final. Gael Monfils is on an 8-match winning streak, while Stefanos Tsitsipas is on a 7-match winning streak. Both players arrived in Dubai on the back of title wins in Rotterdam and Marseille respectively. However, the crucial factor here is a week break that Monfils had after winning in Rotterdam.
Tsitsipas arrived so late in Dubai and needed three sets to win his opening round match against Matthew Ebden. The Greek was given a real scare by Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals before prevailing yet again in three sets. In a tournament in which a host of top seeded players crashed out so early, it is an impressive feat by Tsitsipas to reach the business end of the tournament. He will be motivated to break into the Top 10 with a win, but Gael Monfils will take advantage of having fresher legs in this one.
Prediction: Monfils in 3
Roger Federer vs Borna Coric
Head-to-head: Federer 2-2 Coric
Last meeting: 2018 Shanghai Masters (Coric won 6-4 6-4)
Roger Federer is just two matches away from winning his 100th career singles title. That is a remarkable number by anyone’s imagination. However, there is still plenty of work to do considering the struggles he has been through this week. The Swiss was not at his fluent best as he won in three sets against veterans Philipp Kohlschreiber and Fernando Verdasco. His straight sets win over Marton Fucsovics was a welcome relief in a match that was briefly halted due to rain and Federer broke at the decisive moment shortly after play resumed to serve for the match.
The worrying thing for Federer is the unforced error count he has posted this week. Borna Coric will be standing in Roger Federer’s way and if recent history is anything to go by, this will be a very tough assignment for the Swiss. The Croat has beaten Federer in their last two meetings including the Halle final, one of Federer’s most successful tournament.
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Coric’s qarterfinal match against Basilashvili finished precisely at 1 AM local time, and he will have little time to recover for this semifinal. However, that should not be an issue for the 22-year-old who is playing only his third tournament of the year. Federer has committed a ton of errors in his three matches, but he has been clinical in break points conversion and holding his own service games. After coming through unscathed in his opening three matches, it is hard to see Federer pass up this opportunity of not just winning this semifinal match but of winning the whole tournament particularly with the title firmly in sight.
Prediction: Federer in 3
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