The 2021 ATP Qatar Open in Doha is starting on Monday with six first-round clashes. The top seeds will compete from round two onwards, but there are still plenty of exciting matchups to follow, and, as ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Roberto Bautista Agut vs Reilly Opelka. Who will advance?
ATP Qatar Open Day 1 Predictions
Richard Gasquet vs Blaz Rola
Head-to-head: First meeting
Richard Gasquet is really fragile physically at this point of his career and having played just one match in 2021, there’s not much we could say about his form. He should still take this rather comfortably though, even lacking match practice. Blaz Rola defeated doubles specialist Tim Puetz in the qualifying draw, breaking a four-match losing streak. The rhythm will help him but on current form, he shouldn’t present much danger to a player of Gasquet’s class.
Prediction: Gasquet in 2
Ramkumar Ramanathan vs Alexander Bublik
Head-to-head: First meeting
Ramkumar Ramanathan had to take out doubles specialist Frederik Nielsen and Norbert Gombos to advance to the main draw, impressing in the second match as he lost just four games at the expense of the Slovakian. Alexander Bublik‘s mindset is always a question mark and the Kazakh can lose interest at any point of the match. We haven’t seen that much of that in 2021 though with Bublik winning at least a match in every event he contested. Coupled with two tour-level finals and a recent win over Alexander Zverev, he seems to be focused and motivated. That version of his is good enough to dominate this match.
Prediction: Bublik in 2
Lorenzo Sonego vs Taylor Fritz
Head-to-head: Fritz 2-1 Sonego
This has been an interesting rivalry, heavily reliant on the surface the match was played on. A faster outdoor hard court should be a sort of a middle ground for them. Taylor Fritz hasn’t played since taking the eventual champion, Novak Djokovic, to five sets at the Australian Open. Lorenzo Sonego competed at Montpellier and Rotterdam but with very average results. This should be tight but the American’s heavier game could just give him the edge if the court plays as it did in the past in Doha.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Main photo from Getty.
