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The 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships, to be held from February 21-26, is one of three ATP tournaments happening this week. The 30th edition of the ATP 500 event will also be the first tournament that World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will compete in this year.
The Serbian is the top seed in Dubai, where he's a five-time champion, while World No. 7 Andrey Rublev is seeded second. 2022 Australian Open quarterfinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime and World No. 10 Jannik Sinner round out the top four seeds. Defending champion Aslan Karatsev is seeded seventh.
Also in the fray are former champions Andy Murray and Roberto Bautista Agut.
On that note, here's an in-depth look at how the draw might unfold.
Top half: Novak Djokovic makes his long awaited return at the Dubai Tennis Championships
Seeded players: (1) Novak Djokovic, (3) Felix Auger-Aliassime, (6) Denis Shapovalov and (8) Roberto Bautista Agut.
Expected semifinal: Novak Djokovic vs Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Dark horse: Marin Cilic.
Analysis: Novak Djokovic started the year by being involved in one of the biggest controversies in tennis. His hopes of defending his title at the Australian Open and possibly winning his 21st Major were dashed when he was deported from the country. The conversation regarding the Serbian has revolved around his off-court issues so far and he'll be eager to let his racquet do the talking in Dubai.
Djokovic will kick off his challenge at the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships against Lorenzo Musetti. The duo faced off in the fourth round at Roland Garros last year, with the young Italian putting up quite the fight before the World No. 1 prevailed.
The top seed could then face either Karen Khachanov or Alex de Minaur in the second round. Djokovic will be the favorite to win both of his initial matches to reach the quarterfinals.
Eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut will take on Arthur Rinderknech in the first round, followed by either Marin Cilic or a qualifier. Bautista Agut and Cilic are in good form at the moment and could challenge Djokovic in the last eight.
Third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is one of the most in-form players this year. He played a key role in securing Canada's first ATP Cup title to start the year.
Auger-Aliassime followed it up by reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and then winning his maiden career title at the Rotterdam Open. He's currently a semifinalist at the Open 13 Provence and has a good shot at advancing further.
The Canadian will start his campaign in Dubai against Nikoloz Basilashvili, who recently ended his six-match losing streak at the Qatar Open, where he reached the final.
Auger-Aliassime's second-round opponent could be either Jan-Lennard Struff or a qualifier. Considering his form, he'll be the favorite to win both matches and progress to the last eight of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Sixth seed Denis Shapovalov will square off against Marton Fucsovics in the opening round. The Canadian's level has dipped a bit since his quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.
Fucsovics, on the other hand, has gained momentum after a slow start to the season and will fancy his chances of causing an upset. The winner will take on either David Goffin or a qualifier in the second round for a quarterfinal spot.
This section of the Dubai Tennis Championships draw is quite open, though whoever makes the last eight from here is likely to face Auger-Aliassime.
Semifinal prediction: Novak Djokovic vs Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Bottom half: Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner seek to topple defending champion Aslan Karatsev
Seeded players: (2) Andrey Rublev, (4) Jannik Sinner, (5) Hubert Hurkacz and (7) Aslan Karatsev.
Expected semifinal: Andrey Rublev vs Jannik Sinner.
Dark horse: Alexander Bublik.
Analysis: Second seed Andrey Rublev's start to the 2022 season was hampered by a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. It may have played a part in his early exit from the Australian Open as well.
The Russian has recovered quite well since then, making consecutive semifinals in Rotterdam and Marseille. Rublev is still competing in the latter tournament at the time of writing and is the favorite to win the title.
At the Dubai Tennis Championships, he will take on Dan Evans in the first round. Evans made a solid start to the year, winning all of his ATP Cup group ties and reaching the semifinals in Sydney. However, the Brit hasn't sustained that level since then and and shouldn't pose much of a threat to Rublev.
The World No. 7 could face either Ilya Ivashka or Kwon Soon-woo in the second round and should come up trumps in that clash to make it into the quarterfinals.
Defending champion Aslan Karatsev's form over the last few weeks has been worrying. After winning the title at the Sydney Tennis Classic, he lost in the third round of the Australian Open.
He then made consecutive opening-round exits from the Maharashtra Open and the Rotterdam Open. The Russian won his opening-round match at the Open 13 Provence, but lost in the second round.
Karatsev's first-round opponent Mackenzie McDonald isn't playing that well either, so he has a decent shot at making a winning start. It is worth noting that Karatsev defeated McDonald at this year's Australian Open as well.
In the second round, Karatsev will face the winner of the match between Malek Jaziri and Filip Krajinovic.
If the defending champion raises his level a little bit, his favorable draw might help him reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner's promising start to the year has been interrupted by COVID-19. He won all of his group ties at the ATP Cup and reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Following his campaign Down Under, he tested positive for the virus and was forced to withdraw from the Rotterdam Open.
Sinner will commence his Dubai campaign against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. While it will be a challenging match, the Italian should be able to win it if he is fully fit. Sinner will face either former World No. 1 Andy Murray or a qualifier in the next round.
The three-time Grand Slam winner was handed a 6-0, 6-1 beatdown by Bautista Agut in Qatar last week. While Murray reached the final in Sydney at the start of the year, his results since then have been disappointing. He might have it easy against a qualifier in the first round, but Sinner is likely to defeat him to reach the quarterfinals.
Fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz started the year with a successful ATP Cup campaign, but made second-round exits from the Australian Open and the Rotterdam Open. At the Dubai Tennis Championships, he will face Alexander Bublik in the opening round.
Bublik defeated Alexander Zverev to win his first career title at the Open Sud de France a few weeks ago and could certainly upset Hurkacz if he's in his element. The winner of that contest will take on either Lloyd Harris or Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round.
Harris hasn't won a match this year, so van de Zandschulp will fancy his chances against him. Bublik will be favored to reach the last eight from this section, but it could be anyone's game.
Semifinal prediction: Andrey Rublev vs Jannik Sinner.
Prediction for the final: Novak Djokovic def. Jannik Sinner.
Also Check Out: Dubai Tennis Championships Schedule 2022
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