An exciting Day 3 at the ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships lies ahead. In-form Andrey Rublev will be taking on the talented American Taylor Fritz. A battle of two generations between Roberto Bautista Agut and Jannik Sinner. And a battle of the youngsters between Hubert Hurkacz and Denis Shapovalov. As always, we here at LWOT will also be offering our predictions for the other four matches on the schedule, including Aljaz Bedene vs Kei Nishikori. But who will advance?
ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Day Four Predictions
Hubert Hurkacz vs Denis Shapovalov
Head-to-head: Hurkacz 2-0 Shapovalov
Both players have not been in the greatest form this year. Hurkacz has struggled to string back-to-back victories since his first tournament this year in Adelaide. Shapovalov, similarly, has only managed to string one back-to-back victory, the one coming in the Australian Open. Head-to-head Hurkacz leads 2-0, but the gut feeling is saying it’s Shapovalov’s turn to get one back here in Dubai.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 3
Taylor Fritz vs Andrey Rublev
Head-to-head: Rublev 1-0 Fritz
Rublev really looks unstoppable in ATP 500 series at the moment. The in-form Russian has won his last four consecutive ATP 500 series tournaments and will be looking to add Dubai to his list by the end of the week. Fritz has been in decent form as of late–pushing Djokovic to five sets in Melbourne and reaching the quarterfinals of Doha last week. It will be a good battle between these two youngsters, but Rublev should advance through with the first set being a close one.
Prediction: Rublev in 2
Aslan Karatsev vs Lorenzo Sonego
Head-to-head: first meeting
The 27-year-old Russian has continued his momentum from Melbourne to here in Dubai. He came through a tough match against Dan Evans and will be looking to get through here against Sonego. The Italian is currently not in the best of form as of late. Before coming to Dubai, he was on a four-match losing streak before ending it yesterday against Bernabe Zapata Miralles. Expect a straight forward match with Karatsev advancing with no major issues.
Prediction: Karatsev in 2
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Jannik Sinner
Head-to-head: first meeting
A real toss up in terms of who wins this match. The Spanish veteran has already two finals this year- Montpellier and Doha last week. Sinner, similarly, has already won a title and reached the quarterfinals of Marseille before losing to Daniil Medvedev. Expect a close battle, but with the Spaniard edging through from experience and composure.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
