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The Dubai Tennis Championships 2025 will begin on Monday, February 24. Ugo Humbert beat Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-3 in last year's final to capture the title. The Frenchman will return to defend his crown this year, and having won the title in Marseille a couple of weeks ago, he will fancy his chances of a successful title defense in Dubai.
Daniil Medvedev is the top seed for this year's edition, followed by Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev, who won the recently concluded Qatar Open. He was defaulted out of the Dubai Tennis Championships last year due to unsportsmanlike conduct and will hope for a better outing this time.
This will be the players' final opportunity to score some wins before the consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments in the US next month. On that note, here are the predictions for some of the matches set for Day 1 of the Dubai Tennis Championships:
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#1. Karen Khachanov vs Dan Evans
Khachanov has been struggling so far with a disappointing 2-4 record for the season. Both of his wins came at the Australian Open, where he reached the third round. He was the defending champion at the Qatar Open but lost to compatriot Medvedev in the first round.
Evans has only competed on the Challenger tour this season with a 3-6 record. He was given a wildcard to participate in the Dubai Tennis Championships, his first tournament at the ATP level this year.
While Evans has been out of the top 100 for a while, he usually relishes a match against Khachanov, against whom he has a perfect 5-0 record. Their most recent meeting took place at last year's US Open. The Brit had lost 11 of his 12 matches before their contest in New York and was ranked 184th.
Nevertheless, Evans took down his younger rival in five sets in their first-round duel and reached the third round. The Brit's counterpunching ways have given Khachanov a tough time in the past, and with the latter in the middle of a rough patch, it's going to be a tall order for him to outplay his nemesis.
Predicted winner: Dan Evans
#2. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs Zhang Zhizhen
Mpetshi Perricard's semifinal outing in Brisbane at the start of the season showed signs of promise from him. Unfortunately, he couldn't sustain the momentum and was shown the door by Gael Monfils in the first round of the Australian Open. He was supposed to return to action on Rotterdam but withdrew due to an injury. He has a 4-2 record this year.
Unlike Mpetshi Perricard, Zhang has been quite active this season, though his results haven't been that impressive. He overcame a four-match losing streak with a win at the Davis Cup qualifiers. A first-round exit from Rotterdam was followed by his best result this season, a quarterfinal in Marseille. He lost to Luca Nardi in the second round of the Qatar Open and improved his record to 4-7 for the season.
Zhang won their previous encounter at last year's Cincinnati Open in straight sets. With Mpetshi Perricard coming back from an injury, his lack of match play could hurt his chances and cause him to suffer an early exit.
Predicted winner: Zhang Zhizhen
#3. Alexei Popyrin vs Hady Habib
Popyrin won a Masters 1000 title last year and reached the fourth round of a Major for the first time at the US Open. Expectations were high from him this year after his exploits in the previous season, and the Aussie has struggled to meet them, given his 0-4 record this year.
Habib became the first player from Lebanon to win a Grand Slam match at this year's Australian Open. He beat Bu Yunchaokete in straight sets before losing to Humbert. He has lost his next three matches since then.
Habib has never beaten a top-50 player in his career, though that could change given Popyrin's form. For the latter, going up against a player ranked outside the top 150 is his best shot at scoring a much-needed win. Given his accomplishments, he will be the favorite to win this match despite his current slump.
Predicted winner: Alexei Popyrin
#4. Roberto Bautista Agut vs Fabian Marozsan
Bautista Agut won the biggest title of his career at the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2018. Given his 0-4 record this season, he will be hoping for a reversal of his fortunes at the scene of his biggest triumph.
Marozsan has a 7-5 record this year, with a quarterfinal in Hong Kong and a third-round showing at the Australian Open being his best results. He reached the second round in Rotterdam and Doha in recent weeks.
The two have split their previous two matches evenly. Marozsan won their first encounter at the Sofia Open 2023 in three sets, while Bautista Agut had the last laugh in Hong Kong last year with a routine victory. However, the Spaniard's current form makes it unlikely for him to repeat the feat this time.
Predicted winner: Fabian Marozsan
