TennisSection previews the 2021 Dubai Open as Lloyd Harris meets Aslan Karatsev in the Final on Saturday, March 20th 2021.
Will Aslan Karatsev continue his amazing run of form and domination in 2021, having won every single match he has played in 2021 except for 2, which have come against Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem? Will Lloyd Harris be able to continue causing huge upsets this week in Dubai as he looks to win his maiden ATP 500 tournament? Perhaps we are not in store for the biggest names in the Final here in Dubai, but this is going to be a match filled with talent and excitement. Who will become the 2021 Dubai Open Champion?
Lloyd Harris put on a great comeback performance in the Semi-finals against the No.3 seed, Denis Shapovalov. Harris started the match well and lost the first set due to one bad point in the tiebreak. In the second set, it looked as if Denis was going to run away with the match as he went up a break quite early on. However, Harris was able to maintain his composure throughout these tough moments, he broke back, and never looked back. Harris eventually won the match (5)6-7/6-4/7-6(6). Harris has played the best tennis of his life this week, beating the No.1 seed Dominic Thiem and the very experienced Kei Nishikori before his match against Shapovalov. Now, Harris meets the player who has been on top of his game since the start of the year, Aslan Karatsev. How will the South African fare against such a tough and experienced opponent?
Aslan Karatsev pulled off the biggest upset of the week, beating his close friend, and the heavy favourite for the title here in Dubai, Andrey Rublev. Karatsev started the match quite well and went up a set in just 35 minutes, however, the second set was much tigher, and Rublev was able to sneak it. In the final set, Karatsev was able to go up two breaks before he had serve the match out where he was broken back once, and nearly broken again to get the match level. Karatsev won in the end 6-3/4-6/6-4. Aslan has had a superb breakthrough season this year at the age of 27, and has won every single match he has played against an opponent outside of the Top 4. Can Aslan Karatsev win his maiden ATP and ATP 500 title as he meets Lloyd Harris?
Aslan Karatsev and Lloyd Harris have never met before, and we are definitely in for an incredibly tight and exciting encounter here in this Final in Dubai. Both players have dominated this week in their particular sides of the draw, and they finally get to meet. Harris has played finals at ATP level already, whilst Karatsev has not. However, Karatsev has big tournament experience now, having won the ATP Cup with Russia this year, having made the Semi-finals of the Australian Open, and having won the Qatar Open Double’s title just last week. I think this is going to be a long and draining match for both players, but it will be one which is won by the superb in form Russian, Aslan Karatsev.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Aslan Karatsev to win the 2021 Dubai Open.
Want more Free Tennis Picks from our Experts? Check out our latest Tennis Predictions now!
