Six first-round matches remain to be contested on Tuesday at the 2021 ATP Qatar Open in Doha. Recent Montpellier champion David Goffin will take on Filip Krajinovic in an absolute box office clash. We predict three of the matches in this article and three in a second article. Who do you think will prolong his Doha stay?
ATP Doha Day 2 Predictions
Norbert Gombos vs Małek Jaziri
Head-to-head: Gombos 1-0
Malek Jaziri used to be capable of playing great tennis in these Middle East events, once even taking a set off Roger Federer in Dubai. However, the Tunisian has been in rapid decline recently and is not exactly the fittest tennis pro, to say it lightly. Even with Norbert Gombos’ poor loss to Ramkumar Ramanthan in the qualifying, he should still have way more than enough for the nearing-retirement Tunisian.
Prediction: Gombos in 2
Vasek Pospisil vs Christopher O’Connell
Head-to-head: Pospisil 2-0
Christopher O’Connell’s chances in this match seem to be based around being in much better rhythm than his opponent. Vasek Pospisil has only spent a total of under two hours on court this season, losing to Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open. Meanwhile, O’Connell played four times in Melbourne and defeated Thomas Fabbiano in the qualifying campaign here. Still, Pospisil owns two head-to-head wins from the fall of 2019 when O’Connell was playing the best tennis of his life. That isn’t exactly the case now and the Canadian should find a way to pull through.
Prediction: Pospisil in 3
David Goffin vs Filip Krajinovic
Head-to-head: Goffin 3-2
It looks like David Goffin’s motivation issues should be over after a brilliant title run at Montpellier. The Belgian rose his level with every match there and peaked for the final. He’ll need that determination here in what is a rather brutal first-round draw. Filip Krajinovic is known to underperform in pressure situations and if the Belgian is as clutch as at Montpellier, that’s going to be a huge asset.
Prediction: Goffin in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
