The tennis world heads to the Middle East. And the first stop will be in Doha where the 30th edition of the ATP Qatar Open will take place. The 32-man field will be led by Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, who is the top seed. Nikoloz Basilashvili will return to defend his title despite having not won a match in 2022. Former World No. 1 and two-time champion Andy Murray is one of three wildcards. On that note let us take a look at the draw in detail.
ATP Qatar Open: Preview and Draw Analysis
ATP Doha singles & doubles draws, via @tnnsapp pic.twitter.com/H6YCJAoM1I
— Michal Samulski (@MichalSamulski) February 12, 2022
Top half, first section: Top seed Shapovalov keen to write off Rotterdam horror show
Denis Shapovalov spearheads the top half of the draw and the tournament in general. But the Canadian was far from his usual free-flowing best at the Rotterdam Open last week. Shapovalov succumbed to the fast-rising Czech Jiri Lehecka in the first round. And we are not entirely sure which version of the Canadian we are going to get in Doha.
The 22-year-old has a bye in the opening round and is likely to meet Alex Molcan in the Round of 16 in a battle of the lefties. Should he emerge unscathed, there is a potential quarterfinal collision with Alexander Bublik.
Bublik could be the biggest beneficiary in this half. The newly-crowned Montpellier champion should be refreshed after his early exit in Rotterdam. He opens up against Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik. One of Jiri Vesely or Arthur Rinderknech could be his second-round opponent.
Neither Vesely nor Rinderknech is likely to be operating close to full fitness. Vesely retired from his match in Bengaluru a couple of days back due to a stomach issue. As for Rinderkench, he hasn’t played a match since withdrawing from the Australian Open due to a wrist injury.
Quarterfinal prediction: Shapovalov (1) vs Bublik (7)
Top half, second section: Defending champion Basilashvili seeks first win of 2022
Pressure is mounting as Nikoloz Basilashvili chases his first win of the season. The Georgian shot-making machine is 0-6 at the start of 2022 and winless in his last eight matches dating back to the Vienna Open last October. But write off Basilashvili at your own peril. His current run almost mirrors the exact form at the start of last season. But he shocked the tennis world by beating Roger Federer en route to an unlikely title triumph in Doha.
Basilashvili is seeded a surprisingly high of third and gets a first-round bye. He could lock horns with a resurgent Lorenzo Musetti in the Round of 16. Results have been bad and performances even worse for Basilashvili. If Musetti avoids an upset in his first round against Elias Ymer, he should fancy his chances of piling more misery on the Georgian.
Elsewhere, Soonwoo Kwon is a player to keep an eye on this section. The South Korean No. 1 could easily make the last eight if he plays his cards right.
Quarterfinal prediction: Musetti vs Kwon
Bottom half, first section: Khachanov and Cilic could renew rivalry
Fourth seed Marin Cilic and sixth seed Karen Khachanov are on collision course in the quarterfinals. Cilic leads the head-to-head 2-1, but it is the Russian who won their latest meeting, in Adelaide last month.
Khachanov has a slightly treacherous route to get to Cilic. He opens up against the perpetually tough American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round. If gets through that, he will play the winner of Goffin-Ruusuvuori.
Quarterfinal prediction: Cilic (4) vs Khachanov (6)
Bottom half, second section: Former champion Murray handed another brutal draw
Two-time champion Andy Murray received a wild card to compete at this year’s Qatar Open. The former World No. 1 will need a huge slice of luck to win the title this week.
Murray will face his Australian Open conqueror Taro Daniel right out of the gate. If he exacts revenge, he will meet 2019 champion Roberto Bautista-Agut in the second round. Murray owns a 3-1 record over the Spaniard but they haven’t played since the 2019 Australian Open–billed as the Brit’s retirement match at the time.
Should Murray overcome the odds and reach the last eight, he could set up an all-British affair with Dan Evans. Evans, however, will need to take down Egor Gerasimov and potentially Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to get there.
Quarterfinal prediction: Bautista-Agut (2) vs Evans (5)
Main Photo from Getty.
What do you expect to see at the ATP Qatar Open this week?
