Seeded players and fellow Russians Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov will bid for spots in the Dubai quarterfinals on Wednesday. They are going up against Ugo Humbert and Jenson Brooksby, respectively.
(5) Andrey Rublev vs. Ugo Humbert
Rublev was infamously defaulted from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the 2024 semifinals, but for the most part his memories of the Middle East are positive. The 18th-ranked Russian is 17-5 lifetime in Dubai with a title in 2022 and a runner-up performance in 2023. He is also 19-6 all time in Doha with two titles and a semifinal showing last week (lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz). Rublev’s solid form continued with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Valentin Royer on Tuesday, thus setting up a seventh showdown against Humbert.
The head-to-head series stands at 4-2 in Rublev’s favor (3-2 on the main tour). Surprisingly, they have not squared off since colliding three times in 2023 — where Rublev cruised in Indian Wells and Shanghai to go along with Humbert’s third-set tiebreaker success in Beijing. The 37th-ranked Frenchman is just 5-5 in his last 10 matches, but he did well to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 7-5 in the Dubai opening round. Rublev is in superior form and generally thrives at this event (at least when he doesn’t behave badly), so the fifth seed should have the upper hand.
Pick: Rublev in 3
Jenson Brooksby vs. (7) Karen Khachanov
Khachanov and Brooksby will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Wednesday. They split their two previous encounters, as Brooksby rolled 6-0, 6-3 at the Indian Wells Masters before Khachanov prevailed 6-3, 6-3 this past summer in Cincinnati.
It is a bit surprising that Brooksby played in Dallas to begin the month and then opted for the Middle East swing as opposed to Delray Beach and Acapulco. So far it hasn’t paid off, as the 49th-ranked American lost right away in Doha to Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3 as his losing streak extended to four matches. Brooksby halted it by beating Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-4 on Monday, but Khachanov is a considerably tougher opponent. The Russian checks in at 16th in the rankings after advancing to the quarters last week in Doha, where he pushed eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz to three sets.
Pick: Khachanov in 3