There ought to be loads of tennis for the followers on Day 3 of the ATP Dubai Tennis Championships, with 15 video games on the schedule. As all the time, right here at LWOT, we’ll be that includes our predictions for each recreation on the slate, together with Dominic Thiem vs. Lloyd Harris and Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Marton Fucsovics. However who will reserve their place within the spherical of 16?

ATP Dubai Tennis Championships Day 3 Predictions

Aslan Karatsev vs. Dan Evans

Face-to-face: first assembly

Aslan Karatsev has, up to now, performed effectively sufficient because the Australian Open to recommend that his very good run to the semi-finals in Melbourne could also be a platform he can construct on. The Russian, now forty second^nd on this planet, reached the second spherical in Doha final week, the place he took a beginning seed Dominic Thiem, and he opened his marketing campaign on the ATP Dubai Tennis Championships with a stable 6-4 6- win. 4 on Egor Gerasimov from Belarus.

However he may need his work lower out for him in opposition to Dan Evans. The Briton has performed effectively in Dubai previously, reaching the semi-finals in 2020, and final week gave returning Roger Federer a troublesome take a look at in Doha. Maybe extra importantly, it does not appear to be an excellent recreation for Karatsev. The Russian thrives when his opponents give him tempo, however he has struggled in opposition to opponents with sturdy backhands previously. Evans has probably the greatest within the recreation.

Prediction: Evans in 3
Embed from Getty Pictures

Malek Jaziri vs. Dusan Lajovic

Face-to-face: Lajovic 3-0 Jaziri

Dusan Lajovic has performed some good tennis this season, together with reaching the fourth spherical of the Australian Open and beating Daniil Medvedev in Rotterdam, however consistency has eluded the Serbian. He has gained solely considered one of his final 4 matches and was effectively crushed within the first spherical final week by Marton Fucsovics on the ATP Qatar Open. Nonetheless, he can really feel assured in his probabilities when he takes on Malek Jaziri after profitable his earlier three video games.

The Tunisian made an detached begin to the yr and didn’t advance past the second spherical in any of the tournaments he performed in 2021. He moved to the second spherical in Dubai because of the retirement of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga midway by the primary set of their spherical of 64 matches. But it surely’s clearly not a recreation he likes and though he has a stable report in Dubai, Lajovic has been taking part in effectively on quick onerous courts these days. Count on the Serbian to be too sturdy.

Prediction: Lajovic in 2
Embed from Getty Pictures

Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Matthew Ebden

Face-to-face: Bautista Agut 2-0 Ebden

Matthew Ebden could also be nearing the top of his profession, however the Australian has confirmed he can nonetheless be aggressive at lap stage with a formidable race to the semi-finals on the Open 13 Provence in Marseille. Nonetheless, an damage pressured him to retire behind 4-6 0-3 forward of eventual champion Medvedev and it will be a shock if he had totally recovered from that damage in just some days. Even when he’s in nice form, it’s nonetheless troublesome to see him take the higher hand over Roberto Bautista Agut.

The Spaniard is considered one of many gamers to have had a tough begin till 2021, however he gave the impression to be returning to one thing near his finest on the ATP Qatar Open the place he reached the ultimate. A loss there by the hands of Nikoloz Basilashvili will certainly have stung, particularly the way in which of doing it, however Bautista Agut is just not the kind of participant to let that disrupt his subsequent event. He has gained his earlier two encounters with Ebden and it will be a giant shock if he failed to drag off three out of three wins.

Prediction: Bautista Agut in 3
Embed from Getty Pictures

Taylor Fritz vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili

Face-to-face: Fritz 1-1 Basilashvili

When this duo met a couple of days in the past within the semi-finals of the ATP Qatar Open, it was Basilashvili who emerged victorious. After a good first set, which he gained in a tiebreaker, the Georgian was capable of enhance his recreation and stormed the second set to wrap up a 7-6 6-1 victory. It was a a lot wanted victory for Basilashvili, who stays beneath the cloud of an upcoming home violence trial and was within the midst of a protracted disaster.

Taylor Fritz, then again, had a robust efficiency all through 2021, notably coming very near inflicting seismic upheaval within the Australian Open third spherical in opposition to Novak Djokovic. He’ll little question be disenchanted by his defeat in Doha and we think about that it’s going to all the time be in his head when he faces Basilashvili in Dubai. However the Georgian is just not some of the constant performers on the ATP Tour and has usually struggled to save lots of title races. Count on Fritz to revenue from the ATP Tennis Championships in Dubai.

Prediction: Fritz in 3

Primary picture:
Embed from Getty Pictures