Arthur Fils will make a quick turnaround from his heroics in Dubai when he faces Jiri Lehecka in Dubai on Tuesday. No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev starts his week against Jerry Shang.
(3) Daniil Medvedev vs. (PR) Jerry Shang
Medvedev and Shang will face each other for the second time in their careers and for the second time in as many weeks when they meet again on Tuesday in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. They just faced each other in Doha, where Medvedev won 6-4, 6-2.
Unfortunately for the 11th-ranked Russian, he hasn’t been able to maintain any momentum into 2026. He won his first eight matches – including a title in Brisbane – but was blown away by Learner Tien in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Medvedev is now 1-3 in his last four matches with additional losses to Ugo Humbert (Rotterdam first round) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (Doha second round). Yet there is no reason to believe that Shang will turn the tide of what happened in Doha. The 21-year-old from China is not in top form and the conditions at these two tournaments are the same in every respect.
Choice: Medvedev in 2
Arthur Fils vs. (8) Jiri Lehecka
Lehecka vs. Fils is also a rematch from Doha. They faced each other in the quarterfinals last week, with Fils rolling to a 6-3, 6-3 win en route to the title match. The overall head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in Fils’ favor; he also won 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4 in a 2024 Davis Cup rubber before Lehecka won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Toronto Masters.
Rest will of course play a role in this. Fils will get just two days off after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Doha final on Sunday; Lehecka, on the other hand, hasn’t played a game since last Thursday. The 24th-ranked Czech also has a history of playing well in the Middle East, so he should have a good chance of revenge on Tuesday.
Choice: Lehecka in 3
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