TennisSection previews the 2021 Qatar Open as Dominic Thiem (1) meets Roberto Bautista Agut (5) in the Quarter-Finals on Thursday, March 11 2021.
Will Dominic Thiem get more minutes under his belt with a solid victory over the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut as he looks to get on top of his game here in Qatar? Will Roberto Bautista Agut outwear Dominic Thiem who is not completely at his best due to the lack of tennis he has played recently? Both players have a cause to win this match, but only one will come through. Who will book a spot in the Semi-Finals of the 2021 Qatar Open?
Roberto Bautista Agut cruised through his second round match against the always tough Alexander Bublik, beating the Kazakh in straight sets 6-4/6-3. Roberto Bautista Agut is one of the most consistent players on the ATP Tour over the last 3 years, and he continuously puts on solid performances against some of the best players in the world. Bautista Agut knows that if he is on top of his game here, he can definitely cause an upset on Thursday and book a spot in the Semi-Finals. With his incredible stamina, and ability to play 30-40+ shot rallies consistently without giving his opponent a moment to breathe, anyone and everyone should be afraid of what Roberto Bautista Agut is going to bring to the ATP Tour in 2021. Can we see a glimpse of this against Dominic Thiem on Thursday to book a spot in the Semi-Finals of the 2021 Qatar Open?
Dominic Thiem put on a very resilient comeback on Wednesday in his first match in over 3 weeks as he met Aslan Karatsev. Thiem lost the first set in a very tight fashion, but was able to raise his level in the next two sets to get the job done (5)6-7/6-3/6-2. Dominic Thiem always struggles a bit to find his best form of tennis after he takes a long break, and we saw exactly that right before he won his US Open title last year, with Thiem losing in a straight sets match just a week prior against Filip Krajinovic. However, once Dominic gets a few matches under his belt, he becomes close to unstoppable. Dominic will know he now has to face an extremely tough opponent in Roberto Bautista Agut, and he will not be able to give anything away against this consistent opponent.
This is going to be the fifth meeting between both players, with Roberto Bautista Agut leading the head to head 3-1 against Dominic Thiem. The 3 victories for Roberto Bautista Agut were all in 2015, and Dominic Thiem’s only victory was in 2018. They have polar opposite games, with Dominic Thiem wanting to hit winners very quickly, and Roberto Bautista Agut working hard in every match trying to outwear his opponents to then take advantage of their mistakes. This is going to be an extremely tight encounter in my opinion, and although Dominic Thiem is the favourite here, I do see an upset happening. This is a small tournament, where Dominic Thiem will not be too down on himself losing in the Quarter-Finals. Roberto Bautista Agut is in incredible form at the moment, and he always brings out his best in Qatar. I expect a tight 3-setter, but one which Roberto Bautista Agut should win.
Free Tennis Preview and Prediction: Roberto Bautista Agut in 3 Sets.
