Damien Kayat previews Marin Cilic vs Karen Khachanov from the Qatar Open as well as Simona Halep vs Ons Jabeur at the Dubai Duty Free Championship.
2022 ATP Tour
ATP 250 Series
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Khalifa International Tennis Complex
Quarterfinal Preview
Marin Cilic 23/20 | Karen Khachanov 68/100
Marin Cilic’s career looked in jeopardy after two winless years in 2019 and 2020. He endured a litany of injuries that seemed destined to end his excellent career. But the former World Number Three Croatian returned to a semblance of his former glory with a solid 2021 campaign.
He ended his three-year title drought with victories in Stuttgart and St Petersburg. He also reached the final in Moscow whilst playing an influential role in Russia’s Davis Cup run.
The 33-year-old has carried over some of that positive momentum into 2022. The 2014 US Open champion has an 8-3 win-loss record entering this quarterfinal. He reached the semi-finals in both the Adelaide-1 and Adelaide-2 events.
The two-time Grand Slam runner-up then had a very solid outing at the Aussie Open, losing in a tight 4th round tussle to the excellent Felix Auger Aliassime. He just eased past Botic van de Zandschulp with another dominant serving display.
25-year-old Russian Karen Khachanov has enjoyed a similarly solid start to the year. Last year’s Olympic Silver medallist, Khachanov has a 9-4 win-loss record thus far this year.
He reached the final of the season-opening Adelaide-1. He also managed to take a set off the indomitable Rafa Nadal at the Aussie Open. And the talented Russian has looked excellent this week, not dropping a set with victories over McDonald and Ruusuvuori.
His performance against McDonald was almost the template of a great Khachanov outing. He got 77% of his first-serves in, winning 82% of those points. The Russian- much like Cilic- relies on a strong serve and devastating forehand.
Verdict: Khachanov to win at 68/100
Cilic leads their head-to-head 2-1. Having said that, Khachanov beat Cilic earlier this year in straight sets. As I noted earlier, there are many similarities in their games.
They both look to dominate on serve and set up forehand opportunities. I would argue that Cilic probably has more variety than the Russian. He tends to mix it up with the serve-and-volley from time to time. I just think that Khachanov will have the mental edge following their meeting in Adelaide earlier this year.
2022 WTA Tour
WTA 500
Dubai Duty Free Championships
Aviation Club Tennis Centre
Quarterfinal Preview
Simona Halep 9/20 | Ons Jabeur 17/10
Former World Number One Simona Halep absolutely cruised into the final eight of this year’s championships. The two-time Dubai champion needed little over an hour to see off compatriot Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
This remarkably extended her flawless record against fellow Romanians to 17-0. She was brilliant under the Dubai night sky, winning a staggering 65% of her points on Ruse’s second serve.
Halep seems to be fired up this year. Her victory against Ruse extended her 2021 record to 10-1. Eight of those victories have been straight sets demolitions. Halep is looking ominous in her quest to claim her 3rd Dubai title.
But she will need to be at her very best against the crafty Ons Jabeur.
Well, I guess I got that wrong. I never really anticipated that Jabeur would be at this level after not playing for a month. But she brushed the nuggety Pegula aside with genuine ease.
This was surprising given how tight their rivalry has been up until this point. Jabeur was absolutely clinical on return, winning a whopping 70% of points on Pegula’s second-serve.
This is exactly the sort of emphatic returning form that Halep showed against Ruse. She won five of her nine break points in the match. She is the only seed to survive to this stage in a week full of upsets.
Her return to action has been explosive and she will be highly motivated to claim her 2nd WTA title.
Verdict: Jabeur to win in three sets at 5/1
This is extremely difficult to call. They have played twice previously, sharing the head-to-head spoils. Halep actually beat Jabeur in an epic clash on these very courts two years back.
She hung on to beat the Tunisian in a 3rd-set tiebreak. I think this has the potential to be another three-set struggle. I can’t possibly bet against Jabeur after her performance against Pegula. Pegula was fresh off an Aussie Open quarterfinal and Jabeur made her look like a newbie.
