Two of the four remaining players in the bottom half of the draw in Dubai are not seeded, as Arthur Rinderknech and Tallon Greek Spoor spoiled the party. They will face Andrei Rublev and Jakub Mensik respectively.
(5) Andrey Rublev vs. Arthur Rinderknech
Rublev and Rinderknech will face off for the fourth time in their careers when they compete in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday. All three of their previous meetings went Rublev’s way: in four sets at the 2023 US Open, in two at the 2024 Washington, DC tournament and in five at the 2024 US Open.
Can Rinderknech turn the tide in Dubai? It’s not likely. The world number 31 has struggled a bit since his memorable run to the Shanghai final last autumn and is coming off a pair of very strong three-setters against Fabian Marozsan and Jack Draper. Rublev needed three to get past Ugo Humbert in an extremely high-level match on Wednesday, but he preceded that result with an outright defeat of Valentin Royer. If the individually neutral athlete in 18th place plays as well as he did against Humbert, he should take care of the Frenchman without too much problem.
Choice: Rublev in 2
(6) Jakub Mensik vs. Tallon Greek Spoor
Mensik came out of the gate in 2026 with a 12-3 record, including a title in Auckland and a loss in Doha to Jannik Sinner. The 13th-ranked Czech eventually lost in the quarter-finals to Doha, but that at least gave him enough rest for Dubai. Mensik showed no signs of slowing down and secured a spot in the last eight by beating Hubert Hurkacz and Alexei Popyrin in straight sets.
Next up for the 20-year-old on Thursday is a first-ever meeting with Greek Spoor, who advanced with victories over Otto Virtanen and Alexander Bublik. Yet the 25th-seeded Dutchman is only 5-6 this season. Greekpoor is an extremely solid player, but Mensik’s serve and forehand will be the two biggest weapons on the court – so the match will take place on the racket of the number 6 seed.
Choice: Mensik in 3
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