TennisSection previews the 2021 Qatar Open as Roger Federer (2) meets Nikoloz Basilashvili in the Quarter-Final on Thursday March 11th, 2021.
Can the Swiss legend get another win and advance to the Semi-Finals here at the Qatar Open? The tennis world is very excited to have him back after such a long injury layoff. Or will it be the unseeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili spoiling the party and causing the upset? Both men are seemingly in good form, who will advance to the Semi-Finals here in Doha?
Roger Federer is a tennis legend and considered by many to be the greatest player in history. Currently ranked #6 in the world rankings, he has been out for over thirteen months after having knee surgery. On Wednesday, he made a triumphant return by defeating Great Britain’s Dan Evans in a three set thriller. While some obvious rust was evident he showed flashes of his brilliant self and it is seemingly only a matter of time until he gets fully back up to speed. He served very well during his 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 victory and will be very pleased to be in the Quarter-Finals. Federer has said that his sole focus at the moment is getting ready for an assault on the Wimbledon title so it will be very interesting to see how his body holds up for the rest of the week here at the 2021 Qatar Open.
Nikoloz Basilashvili is currently ranked #42 in the ATP world rankings and is a former top 20 player. He has struggled mightily over the past few years to string consistent performances together and has started the 2021 season on the same note. After reaching the Quarter-Finals in the first event of the year in Antalya, he went on a streak of four consecutive First Round losses. He will have been delighted to have broken that streak with a comprehensive win over Malek Jaiziri of Tunisia. He dominated from the baseline with his heavy groundstrokes and strolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win. While he will have gained some much-needed confidence with that victory he will know that he will have to be much improved against one of the greatest players in history in Roger Federer. Basilashvili enters this match as the underdog here at the 2021 Qatar Open.
This match is between two players who are both desperate for form, but for different reasons. Roger Federer is anxious to get back to his best in order to get ready for Wimbledon while Nikoloz Basilashvili will be desperate to get some wins under his best after a very disappointing past few years. The two men have played each other once before in the careers with Federer leading the head to head series 1-0. He scored a comprehensive straight sets win over Basilashvili at the 2016 Australian Open and will be seeking a repeat performance. While Federer is lacking fitness and quite rusty at the moment, he is facing an opponent that equally has lots of struggles. The Georgian #1 is not as strong a player as Dan Evans and will be sure to give Federer quite a lot of free points. It may not be the perfect tennis that we are accustomed to from him, but expect Roger Federer to advance to the Semi-Finals at the 2021 Qatar Open.
Free Tennis Prediction and Preview: Roger Federer to win in straight sets.
