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ATP Tournament in Dubai, Round of 16, Wednesday, 23.02.2022
Dubai or Mexico? While many only ask themselves this question when it comes to choosing their next holiday, it is the current dilemma tennis fans face. Both tournaments are extremely prominent.
For many, their gaze will be directed more towards the desert, because that is where Novak Djokovic will serve for the first time in 2022. His debut has already been successful, but will he live up to his role as favourite against the Olympic runner-up? Find out in my Djokovic Khachanov tip.
For weeks he was the centre of attention without having served once – Novak Djokovic experienced probably the strangest Australian Open of his long career. Due to his lack of a Corona vaccination, he was ultimately not allowed to compete.
While Rafael Nadal triumphed and passed the Djoker with Grand Slam title number 21, the latter had to wait for tournaments to grant him entry. He is now allowed to compete in Dubai and of course wants to be at the top.
He has already served here eleven times and won the title five times. The last time he competed in 2020, he only dropped one set and beat Stefanos Tsitsipas cleanly in the end. This tournament had a little something special.
In the quarter-finals, he met a certain Karen Khachanov, who is also facing him now, only one round earlier. The Russian is something like his favourite opponent, although a Novak Djokovic has several, of course.
All five duels, whether on clay, grass or hard court, were not only won by the Serb, but also showed how without a chance Khachanov was. He did not win a single set, not even a tiebreak against the world number 1.
Since his semi-final defeat at the ATP Finals in Turin in November, Djokovic has not been allowed to play a match, but his opening in Dubai was quite decent. He won 6-3, 6-3 against Lorenzo Musetti.
He was lucky that the Italian did not use any of his seven break chances. With 62% of successful first serves, it is clear where he still needs to improve.
The Russian will know that the whole world is watching his match, and not so much because of his performances. The 25-year-old has shown decent performances this year, but wins against the big boys are still lacking.
In Melbourne he lost in four sets to Rafael Nadal in round 3, a little later in Rotterdam he lost narrowly to Cameron Norrie. At the Qatar Open he managed to beat Marin Cilic but then had to play Roberto Bautista Agut.
6-2, 3-6, 5-7, despite a good start Khachanov lost in the semi-finals. This was also because he could only convert two of twelve break points, which certainly suited Djokovic. On the other hand, the first serve of the 1.98m tall Russian was more successful.
I can see five participations in the Dubai Open for Khachanov, but of course he was not as successful as his upcoming opponent. Only in 2020 was he able to reach the quarter-finals, and we already know who was responsible for his elimination here.
In 2021 Khachanov had already failed in the round of 16 against Jeremy Chardy. The betting companies are not expecting a win on Wednesday either, and some of the odds are close to 6.00.
My Djokovic Khachanov tip
Weeks without match practice, but the target of all critics and media – how does that go past a Novak Djokovic? If anyone can ignore such things, it’s probably him, at least that’s how it looked against Lorenzo Musetti.
There was some potential for improvement, but the prospect of his sixth title in Dubai is driving the Serb. Karen Khachanov won painstakingly 6-3, 7-6, 7-5 against Alex de Minaur, had much more problems.
Russian is one of Djokovic’s all-time favourite opponents. He didn’t drop a single set and even avoided a tiebreak. Of course, that only leaves me with the following tip:
Djokovic beats Khachanov again straight up!
