Second seed Karan Khachanov faces Alexi Popyrin while the evergreen Gael Monfils takes on young-gun Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open semi-finals. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 ATP Tour – ATP 250
Qatar Open
Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha,
Semi-finals – 23 February
Karen Khachanov 37/100 | Alexei Popyrin 2/1
27-year-old Russian baseliner Karen Khachanov is starting to rediscover some of his best form. The 2018 Paris Masters champ looked like he was on the brink of blossoming into an elite hardcourt player, reaching back-to-back Grand Slam semi-finals at the 2022 US Open and 2023 Aussie Open.
He then showcased laudable versatility with a quarter-final run at last year’s French Open. But he was forced to miss Wimbledon due to a partial stress fracture and it took away a bit of his momentum. Sure, he won his first title in five years at the Zhuhai Championships.
But he wasn’t able to reach the semi-final stage in any of the other late-season tournaments. This year he seems to be back to his physical peak. He had the misfortune of running into Sinner in the fourth round of the Aussie Open but this will be his second consecutive ATP semi-final.
He went down to Dimitrov in an absolutely epic Marseille semi-final and he has just benefitted from the withdrawal of Emil Ruusvuouri to make the semis in Qatar. He is one of the best athletes on tour and players will find it hard to hit clean winners against him on these slow surfaces.
24-year-old Aussie Alexei Popyrin has been a real surprise package in Qatar. He survived two tight three-set matches before taking down in-form Kazakh Alexander Bublik in straight sets. And his performance against Bublik really typified his modus operandi.
He serves well and has a massive forehand, often running around his backhand side to hit inside-out forehands. He is also assured at the net, able to use a variety of volleys to keep his opponents under pressure. It really feels like the big-serving Aussie could be on the brink of something.
He captured the hearts of the Australian public with a miraculous five-set win over Taylor Fritz at last year’s Aussie Open. He would go on to pick up more encouraging results throughout the year, winning a second career title in Umag before a maiden Masters 1000 quarterfinal run in Cincinnati. And he seems to have carried that form into 2024.
His victory over Bublik improved his 2024 record to 5-2. One of those defeats came in a valiant four-set defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Aussie Open. Perhaps he isn’t that much of a surprise package after all.
Verdict: Khachanov to win in straight sets 1/1
Khachanov leads the head-to-head 2-1. But the Aussie has notably won a set in each of those encounters. Crucially, he stunned the Russian in straight-sets in last year’s Japan Open.
But I think the Russian should win easily here. These surfaces suit his bustling, hard-hitting approach to a tee. He is physically resilient and unlikely to wilt like Bublik. I think his sheer athleticism will prove too much Popyrin.
Gael Monfils 91/100 | Jakub Mensik 87/100
37-year-old Gael Monfils will take on 18-year-old whippersnapper Jakub Mensik in a cross-generational clash. Monfils once again showcased why he is so perfectly suited to these surfaces, taking down Ugo Humbert to show that he is still the true king of French tennis.
Monfils will be looking to reach a third Qatar final this week (he finished runner-up in 2014 before winning the title in 2018). In fact, his victory over Humbert made him the oldest semi-finalist in the history of the Qatar Open.
He has really adapted his game brilliantly to counteract the effects of ageing. Sure, he still doesn’t mind getting involved in the type of epic, convoluted rallies that he is famed for. But he has upped the aggression since returning to action and seems willing to end more points concisely. Actually, he and wife Elina Svitolina have both become more aggressive since returning to their respective tours.
Wow. I don’t think anyone saw that coming. Jakub Mensik cemented his rising star status with an absolutely unbelievable straight-sets win over top seed Andrey Rublev. The Czech did not look like somebody playing in their maiden ATP quarterfinal.
He played aggressively in the big moments, consigning Rublev to a miserable 0-6 in his break-point opportunities. It was the Czech’s first top-5 victory, making him the youngest person to win against a top-5 player since Alcaraz downed Tsitsipas at the 2021 US Open.
The victory has vaulted him into the top 100 in the world and I think it’s going to be some time until he is out of it. He serves well and hits the ball solidly off both wings. And he possesses a preternatural ability to play his most confident tennis in big moments.
Verdict: Mensik to win in three at 33/10
This will be their first career meeting. Monfils obviously has a huge edge in terms of court craft and experience (he won a title before Mensik was even born). But there’s something a little bit special about this young Czech.
The way he diffused Rublev’s power and dominated their match was a thing to behold. I think the youngster has the potential to be a star in the future and this title would be a perfect springboard to success.
