ATP Tournament in Qatar, Round of 16, Wednesday, 22.02.2023
Doha has been serving since 1993, and in 2023 the well-known Qatar Open will be as strong as usual. We therefore look not only at Alexander Zverev, who will meet Andy Murray, but also at the many big names who are otherwise running around.
Seeded at position 2 is a young Canadian who wants to keep his place in the top 10. He is heavily favoured at Bet-at-Home for his round of 16 match. Why I also recommend a 2:0 bet, I now reveal in my Kubler Auger-Aliassime Tip!
Felix Auger-Aliassime is only 22 years old and yet it looks as if he has been on the tour for many years. The Canadian overcame his nervousness in 2022 and stopped automatically losing the finals he reached.
It’s clear that this year should be another one that he looks back on fondly. At the Australian Open, however, it was immediately apparent that he can quickly fall back into old patterns.
He came through against Vasek Pospisil in four sets and two won tiebreaks, against Alex Molcan he even had to turn around a 0:2 deficit. Although he managed a halfway commanding victory against Francisco Cerundolo, that was to be his last
Jiri Lehecka was Auger-Aliassime’s last opponent, in the round of 16 he lost two tiebreaks 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 6-7, which is actually one of his great strengths. The 22-year-old had obviously not yet fully recovered from this when he competed in Rotterdam.
He had no problems with Lorenzo Sonego and Gregoire Barrere, but the 2-6, 4-6 against Daniil Medvedev showed that top opponents in strong form are still a bit too big for Aliassime.
In Qatar, he will only start in the round of 16, after all he is seeded second. It is the first time ever for him to serve here in Doha. Our betting providers see him clearly ahead, with odds averaging around 1.15 to 5.00.
Last year in Newport he faced Jason Kubler for the first and only time so far, and the favourite promptly lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-7! It would be a big surprise if the Australian could do it again.
The 29-year-old celebrated one of his greatest successes ever at the Australian Open, winning the doubles title together with Rinky Hijikata. So he could get over the fact that he lost 4-1 to Karen Khachanov in the second round of the singles.
As a top-seeded player, Kubler finally travelled to Manama, where a Challenger was on the agenda. After his very surprising exit in the quarter-finals, he is now hoping for a much better performance in Qatar.
In his debut in Doha, he was lucky in his misfortune when it came to the opening match against Aslan Karatsev. The Russian was banged up. After Kubler had won a tiebreak, the match was over at 0-1 in set two.
The 1.78 m short Australian is clearly weaker in service than Felix Auger-Aliassime, but since he won the only direct duel, he should not be underestimated.
My Kubler Auger-Aliassime tip
For Felix Auger-Aliassime, the duel with Jason Kubler should actually result in a mandatory win, but is the Canadian cool enough? I too know that you have to be ready for anything with him.
Kubler can be defiant on good days, but just as well be without a chance against much weaker rivals. I’m going with the favourite in this one and send the following tip into the race:
Auger-Aliassime wins with 2:0!
