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Day 4 of the Dubai Tennis Championships will take place on Wednesday, February 22, with Round of 16 fixtures.
Top seed Iga Swiatek will face 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova while second seed Aryna Sabalenka will be up against reigning champion Jelena Ostapenko. Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina will lock horns in arguably the most evenly-matched fixture while Victoria Azarenka will face Madison Keys.
The likes of Jessica Pegula, Belinda Bencic, and Petra Kvitova will also be in action on Wednesday.
On that note, let's take a look at the predictions for some of the big matches that will take place on Day 4 of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
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#1. Coco Gauff vs Elena Rybakina
Fifth seed Coco Gauff will face ninth seed Elena Rybakina in the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. This will be the second meeting between the two, with Gauff winning their previous encounter 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(3) at last season's Canadian Open.
Gauff booked her place in the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships with a comfortable 6-0, 6-4 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Rybakina was seeded ninth in the WTA 1000 tournament and reached the round of 16 with straight-set wins over Bianca Andreescu (6-3, 6-4) and Marie Bouzkova (7-5, 6-2).
Both players have started the 2023 season strongly, with Gauff winning 10 out of 12 matches while Rybakina triumphing in 10 out of 14.
The match is expected to be a thrilling contest and whoever wins it, will probably do so by the barest of margins.
Predicted Winner: Elena Rybakina
#2. Iga Swiatek vs Liudmila Samsonova
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will face 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova in the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the second meeting between the two, with the former winning their previous encounter in the semifinals of last year's Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
Swiatek suffered a disappointing fourth-round exit at the Australian Open but bounced back strongly at the Qatar Open, where she successfully defended her title by dropping only five games throughout the tournament. The Pole received a bye to the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships due to her seeding and sealed her place in the third round by defeating Leylah Fernandez 6-1, 6-1.
Samsonova has a 7-5 record in the 2023 season so far, most notably reaching the final of the Abu Dhabi Open, where she lost to Belinda Bencic despite having three championship points. The Russian then lost to Sofia Kenin in the first round of the Qatar Open.
Samsonova was seeded 14th at the Dubai Tennis Championships and started the tournament with a 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-4. She was scheduled to face Zheng Qinwen in the second round but the latter withdrew, thus giving the Russian a place in the third round.
Swiatek will enter the match as the heavy favorite to win and she should have a little trouble beating Samsonova.
Predicted Winner: Iga Swiatek.
#3. Aryna Sabalenka vs Jelena Ostapenko
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will face reigning champion Jelena Ostapenko in the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the second meeting between the two, with Sabalenka winning their previous encounter 6-1, 6-2 at the 2019 Zhengzhou Open.
Sabalenka has had a dream start to the 2023 season, winning the Adelaide International 2 followed by her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open. The Belarusian then entered the Dubai Tennis Championships and booked her place in the third round with a crushing 6-0, 6-1 win over Lauren Davis.
Ostapenko has won nine out of 14 matches so far this season, with her best performance being reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The Latvian followed this up with round of 16 exits at the Abu Dhabi Open and the Qatar Open.
She then entered the Dubai Tennis Championships and booked her place in the third round with straight-sets wins over Katarina Zavatska (6-1, 6-4) and Linda Fruhvirtova (6-2, 6-0).
Ostapenko has produced some good tennis so far this season and she is expected to give Sabalenka a run for her money. However, the Belarusian's recent run of form should see her book her place in the quarterfinals.
Predicted Winner: Aryna Sabalenka.
#4. Victoria Azarenka vs Madison Keys
15th seed Victoria Azarenka will face Madison Keys in the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the fifth meeting between the two, with Azarenka winning each of their previous four encounters.
The former World No. 1 has won 10 out of 14 matches so far this season, most notably reaching the Australian Open semifinals. She entered the Dubai Tennis Championships as the 15th seed and booked her place in the third round with wins over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Amanda Anisimova.
Madison Keys has won 10 out of 12 matches so far this season and has looked in good touch so far in Dubai. The American beat Jasmine Paolini and Caroline Garcia to reach the third round.
Keys will be in good spirits after beating Garcia, but Azarenka's balance and mentality should see her scrape through to the quarterfinals.
Predicted Winner: Victoria Azarenka
