It’s been an incredible week of tennis so far at the ATP Doha Open, and there’s still more exciting matches to be played on Friday! We are down to the final four and all four players will feel like they have a legitimate shot to win the title. But who will book their place in Saturday’s final?
ATP Doha Semifinal Predictions
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Arthur Rinderknech
Head-to-head: Basilashvili 1-0 Rinderknech
Nikoloz Basilashvili has turned his season around at the ATP Doha Open. After losing his first six matches of the year, Basilashvili has now strung together impressive victories in Qatar, his latest being a come-from-behind victory over Marton Fucsovics. Arthur Rinderknech, meanwhile pulled off a stunning upset in Doha, knocking out world #12 Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals. The Frenchman won 76% of his service points and wasn’t broken in the match.
Basilashvili leads the head-to-head 1-0, having won in straight sets on grass last season. Rinderknech will need to continue to serve at a very high level to beat Basilashvili, as the Georgian’s baseline game and ball-striking ability are both much better than his. Ultimately, Basilashvili is a much more dynamic player with better rally tolerance and a cleaner ball-striker. I trust his returning abilities to get enough of Rinderknech’s huge serves back into play and then beat him from the baseline. Basilashvili advances to the final, but it won’t be easy.
Prediction: Basilashvili in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Karen Khachanov
Head-to-head: Bautista Agut 6-2
Roberto Bautista Agut is having an incredible tournament. After losing only one game to Andy Murray in the first round, he lost only two games to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the quarterfinals. Bautista Agut’s baseline game has been extremely sharp and his return game has given his opponents fits this week. Both Murray and Davidovich Fokina won less than 50% of their service points against Bautista Agut. Karen Khachanov is playing with great controlled aggression this week. The Russian has a trio of strong wins this week over Mackenzie McDonald, Emil Ruusuvuori, and Marin Cilic.
Bautista Agut leads the head to head 6-2, although they haven’t played since 2020. While Khachanov hits a bigger ball than Bautista Agut, the Spaniard rally tolerance is higher than his. Bautista Agut is on fire this week and is doing a great job of holding the baseline and that will be huge against Khachanov. While Khachanov will overpower Bautista Agut at times, ultimately, the consistent depth and patience in rallies that Bautista Agut can produce will be too much for Khachanov.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 3
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
