After an incredible week of women’s tennis in Dubai, it’s the men’t turn to follow for the ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The main draw kicks off Sunday with six matches, and we’re predicting them all for you. We have three of the matches in this article, and three more in a second article.
ATP Dubai Duty Free Championships Day 1 Predictions
Alexei Popyrin vs Dennis Novak
Novak is a solid player who gets decent results against Challenger-level competition, but Popyrin is rising. The Australian won in Singapore last month and should be a consistent threat on the ATP Tour–and a 500 event with a good entry list is just the place to show it. Popyrin should cruise.
Prediction: Poyrin in 2
Alexander Bublik vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Nishioka is a consistently solid player, though he hasn’t quite been his usual self this year. Either way he’d have trouble with a player like Bublik, who is both a talented shotmaker and finding his form now. Bublik is a player to watch on Tour, and don’t miss him in Dubai. He’ll be around for more than one match.
Prediction: Bublik in 2
Aslan Karatsev vs Egor Gerasimov
Aslan Karatsev has been a revelation this season. With his miracle run at the Australian Open, he announced to the tennis world that he was here to compete. The Russian hasn’t quite found those levels again, but he’s been more than good enough to hold on own in ATP-level matches. Gerasimov should be a good challenge, but I expect Karatsev to rise to it.
Prediction: Karatsev in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
