Damien Kayat preview Novak Djokovic's Ro16 tie against Karen Kachanov at the Dubai Duty Free Championship and Iga Swiatek's Ro16 clash with Daria Kasatkina at the Qatar Ladies Open
2022 ATP Tour
ATP 500 Series
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Aviation Club Tennis Centre (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Round of 16 Preview- 23rd February
Novak Djokovic 1/7 | Karen Khachanov 44/10
When it comes down to Novak Djokovic: it’s become impossible to separate the tennis superstar from the anti-vaxxer icon. It’s still going to be some time before you can write a simple tennis-centric preview of the Serbian’s matches.
Incredibly, his opening-round victory against Lorenzo Musetti was his first competitive match of the year. He showed some signs of rustiness, only getting 56% of his first serves in.
He also had to save seven break-points in the match. But he looked deadly on return, breaking Musetti three times in the match. This is almost the perfect tournament for Djokovic to return to.
He has reached six finals in Dubai, winning this title on five separate occasions. That included three consecutive titles between 2009 and 2011 (the last time he tasted victory here was 2020).
For what it’s worth, his next opponent actually supports his decision to remain unvaccinated. Karen Khachanov has publicly stated that he admires the ‘bravery’ of Djokovic’s steadfast decision to completely ignore science.
In any event, the Russian actually comes into this match with some pretty good form under his belt. It actually feels like I have been writing about the 2018 Paris Masters exhaustively of late.
But he just seems to keep popping up in crucial matches this year. He currently possesses a year-to-date win-loss record of 11-5. That includes an Adelaide final defeat and a run to the semi-finals in Rotterdam.
The arch-baseliner needed to draw on all his court-covering abilities to beat ‘Speed Demon’ Alex De Minaur. That match lasted nearly three hours and featured a series of exhaustive baseline rallies.
What chance could the Russian possibly have of taking down the completely refreshed Djokovic?
Verdict: Djokovic to win in straight sets at 5/10
Djokovic has a pretty commanding 3-1 head-to-head advantage against the Khachanov. That comes as little surprise considering the Serb’s dominance over the past decade.
Khachanov’s only victory against Djokovic was a notable one (he beat Djokovic in his Masters 1000 final in Paris). Khachanov is really a diet version of Djokovic. The Russian conceded 13 break point opportunities to De Minaur in his last match.
That kind of serving is simply not going to fly against arguably the greatest returner the game has ever seen. I know this isn’t exactly the sexiest bet out there. But it’s quite frankly the only one.
2022 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
Qatar Ladies Open
Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex (Outdoor Hardcourts), Doha, Qatar
Round of 16 Preview- 23rd February
Iga Swiatek 2/9 | Daria Kasatkina 31/10
Iga Swiatek has established herself as one of the preeminent figures on the WTA Tour over the past two years. Her power-hitting and never-say-die attitude make her a firm fan favourite wherever she plays.
She reached the 2nd week of all four Grand Slams during the 2021 campaign. She won a WTA 1000 title in Rome en route to a WTA Finals berth. And she has shown little sign of relenting in 2022.
Her year-to-date win-loss record currently sits at 10-3. She reached a semi-final in Adelaide before a brilliant 2nd career Grand Slam semi-final run at this year’s Aussie Open.
Even her defeats point towards her tenacity. She lost in Dubai last week to eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko. But the Latvian needed every ounce of her ability to beat the Pole in a 3rd set tiebreaker.
Swiatek dropped a set in her opening win against Golubic. That’s to be expected with her somewhat maverick style.
Daria Kasatkina is fresh off a rousing comeback season in 2021. The 24-year-old Russian has been something of a disappointment since losing in the 2018 Indian Wells final.
But she came back to prominence last year with four WTA finals. That included hardcourt victories in both the Phillip Island Trophy and St Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy.
Kasatkina started 2022 in impressive fashion, reaching back-to-back semi-finals at the Gippsland Trophy and Sydney International. She hasn’t exactly shone this week. She needed three arduous sets to overcome Ajla Tomljanovic in her opening match.
And she only progressed past the round of 32 stage after Jaqueline Cristian withdrew. She was actually trailing by a set to the Romanian. The problem with Kasatkina is always the unforced errors count.
She often lacks the patience to construct points and tends to go for outright winners too early. She’s a bit like Ostapenko in that sense. But much like Ostapenko, she has the ability to pick up tournament wins.
Verdict: Swiatek to win in three sets at 31/10
Swiatek leads the head-to-head 2-1. Interestingly, these two have a bit of lopsided recent history. The Russian has actually been eliminated by the Pole in each of her last two tournaments.
The accumulative game count from those two matches reads 24-8. Swiatek has absolutely dominated Kasatkina. But I think that’s also down to Kasatkina’s attempts to outhit the Pole.
I think she will maybe to try to play a bit more within herself in this match. This could expose some of Swaitek’s more mercurial tendencies. Swiatek in three might be a decent compromise for some value.
