With a Saturday final, there is no time to lose as the business end of the Dubai ATP 500 approaches. Thursday’s quarterfinals feature Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Jiri Lehecka and Daniil Medvedev vs. Jenson Brooksby.
(1) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (8) Jiri Lehecka
Auger-Aliassime and Lehecka will face each other for the fourth time in their careers on Thursday as they battle for a spot in the semi-finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Auger-Aliassime, although one of his wins came via retirement midway through the first set. Lehecka triumphed in a fourth-set tiebreak at the 2023 Australian Open before Auger-Aliassime triumphed 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-2 in the Brussels final last fall.
As these results indicate, an outdoor hard court gives Lehecka a better chance in this match than an indoor environment. Auger-Aliassime has played well in the Middle East in the past, but the eighth-ranked Canadian is not. Great on this surface as if he were indoors. This is Lehecka’s second quarter-final result in a row after getting this far in Doha and it wouldn’t be a shock if the 24th-ranked Czech advanced even further in Dubai.
Choice: Lehecka in 3
(3) Daniil Medvedev vs. Jenson Brooksby
As we saw in the losses to Learner Tien (Australian Open), Ugo Humbert (Rotterdam) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (Doha), Medvedev hasn’t put it all together yet. But he’s close. The 11th-ranked Russian is 11-3 this season with a title in Brisbane and victories in Dubai over Jerry Shang and Stan Wawrinka – both in lightning-quick straight sets.
Next up for Medvedev on Thursday is a second meeting with Brooksby, who lost their only previous match at the 2022 Miami Masters 7-5, 6-1. This is simply not a good match for the 49th-ranked American. Medvedev can bring just as much annoyance to the table as Brooksby, and the former world No. 1 wields a much bigger serve and more firepower from the back of the court when he actually tries to swing out on his groundstrokes. Brooksby did well to beat Zizou Bergs and Karen Khachanov in the first two rounds, but this likely marks the end of the road.
Choice: Medvedev in 2
#Dubai #picks #AugerAliassime #Lehecka #Medvedev #Brooksby