Andrey Rublev boasts an impressive track record in Doha and he will try to make another trip to the semifinals on Thursday, this time at Sebastian Korda’s expense. Alexander Bublik and Jiri Lehecka are also in action.
Sebastian Korda vs. (2) Andrey Rublev
Korda has been absolutely crushing people at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The 33rd-ranked American thrashed Pavel Kotov 6-0, 6-2 in 54 minutes and then humiliated Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 6-0 in 43 minutes. It is a much-needed productive week for Korda, who had been just 6-5 this season with no notable result outside of reaching the Adelaide semifinals.
Unfortunately for Korda, what has been a favorable draw ends on Thursday. Up next for the 23-year-old is Rublev, who leads the head-to-head series 3-0 and has not lost a single set to Korda. The fifth-ranked Russian most recently prevailed at last month’s Australian Open via a 6-2, 7-6(6), 6-4 decision. Like Korda, Rublev is also rolling in Dubai–which is no surprise since he is 16-3 lifetime at this event with one title (2022) and a runner-up showing (2023). So far this week the second seed has dismissed Zhizhen Zhang and Arthur Cazaux, reeling off four consecutive sets after dropping his first one against Zhang in a tiebreaker. Based on Rublev’s form and his history of success in this matchup, a mostly straightforward result is likely in the cards.
Pick: Rublev in 2
(7) Alexander Bublik vs. Jiri Lehecka
Conditions in Dubai are great for Bublik’s game and he has made the most of them so far this week. The 23rd-ranked Kazakh has advanced with wins over Tomas Machac and Tallon Griekspoor, both of whom have playing stellar tennis this season. Bublik has been clutch, too, going 3-0 in tiebreakers–including 2-0 in a 7-6(8), 7-6(2) defeat of Griekspoor on Wednesday.
Standing in the No. 7 seed’s way of the semifinals on Thursday is Lehecka, who really had to battle to book his spot in the last eight. The 36th-ranked Czech beat Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours and 22 minutes before outlasting Doha champion Karen Khachanov 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-4 while saving five match points over the course of two hours and 53 minutes. It will be a tough test for Lehecka to bounce back against an opponent who generally plays a lot of tiebreakers and who so far isn’t losing any of them in Dubai.
Pick: Bublik in 2
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