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After Barbora Krejcikova's unexpected win over Iga Swiatek, the men's tournament at the Dubai Tennis Championships will start on Monday, February 27.
Defending champion Andrey Rublev will be in action and will start his title defense against Filip Krajinovic while seventh seed Alexander Zverev will face the in-form Jiri Lehecka.
Tallon Griekspoor and Constant Lestienne will lock horns in what will be expected to be a tricky contest while Thanasi Kokkinakis will take on Quentin Halys. The likes of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Lorenzo Sonego will also be in action on Monday.
On that note, let's take a look at the predictions of some of the highly-anticipated matches that will take place on Day 1 of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
#1 Alexander Zverev vs Jiri Lehecka
Seventh seed Alexander Zverev has a tough task in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships as he will be up against Jiri Lehecka. It will be the very first meeting between the two, with the Czech beating him 6-4, 6-2 at the United Cup not long back.
Zverev has had a slow start to the 2023 season after missing the latter part of 2022 due to the ankle injury he suffered at the French Open. The German has won only three out of nine matches so far this season and most recently lost to Andy Murray in his first match at the Qatar Open.
Lehecka has had a promising start to the 2023 season as he reached the Australian Open quarterfinals and the Qatar Open semifinals. The Czech is showing the symptoms of having a breakout year and we can expect him to make things difficult for Zverev.
The German is getting more game time and will eventually return to his best. However, for now, there is a fair chance of Lehecka beating him at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Predicted Winner: Jiri Lehecka
#2 Andrey Rublev (2022 Dubai Tennis Championships winner) vs Filip Krajinovic
Defending champion Andrey Rublev will be up against Filip Krajinovic in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the sixth meeting between the two, with Krajinovic leading 3-2 in the head-to-head.
Rublev hasn't had the best of starts to the 2023 season with five wins out of 10 matches so far. However, the Russian managed to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Krajinovic has had a disappointing start to the season, having won only three out of seven matches so far. He most recently suffered an opening-round defeat to Alexander Bublik in the first round of the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.
Rublev is the superior player out of the two and should be able to start his title defense on a winning note.
Predicted Winner: Andrey Rublev
#3 Tallon Griekspoor vs Constant Lestienne
Tallon Griekspoor will face Constant Lestienne in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the very first meeting between the two.
Griekspoor has started the 2023 season on a promising note, winning the Tata Open in Pune and reaching the semifinals of the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam. The Dutchman has so far won 11 out of 14 matches this season.
Lestienne has won four out of nine matches so far this season. He reached the semifinals of the ASB Classic but has won just one out of five main-draw matches since.
Griekspoor looks in decent touch at the moment and should manage to beat Lestienne and reach the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
#4 Thanasi Kokkinakis vs Quentin Halys
Thanasi Kokkinakis will face Quentin Halys in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the very first meeting between the two.
Kokkinakis has won five out of eight matches so far this season, most notably reaching the semifinals of the Adelaide International 2. He recently won a Challenger tournament in Manama following his second-round exit at the Australian Open.
Halys has had a disappointing start to the 2023 season, winning 5 out of 11 matches so far. He reached the quarterfinals of the ASB Classic and the Open Sud de France.
Kokkinakis may be the lower-ranked player out of the two but he will be in good spirits after winning the tournament in Manama, regardless of its stature. The Aussie might just manage to get the better of Halys and reach the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
