TennisSection previews the 2022 Dubai Open as Andrey Rublev takes on Mackenzie McDonald in the quarterfinal on Thursday, February 24th, 2022.
Andrey Rublev will be looking to reach a second semifinal in a row at the Dubai Open when he takes on Mackenzie McDonald. The American has exceeded pre-tournament expectations, so do not count him out from putting the cat amongst the pigeons on Thursday.
Andrey Rublev won his sixth match in a row to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Open. The second-seeded Russian overcame a slow start to ease his way into the last eight after South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon briefly threatened to run away with the win. Kwon began the match firing out of the blocks, breaking Rublev in the first game of the match showing some excellent foot speed and crisp ground strokes. He maintained the lead throughout before closing the set 6-4. Rublev, who won his first title of the season in Marseille last weekend, responded in emphatic fashion. He delivered a second set bagel in which he created 12 break points and converting nine of them. And in the decider, the Russian did not release his foot from the accelerator and decisively broke again in the fourth game.
Mackenzie McDonald, meanwhile, is into his first quarterfinal of the season. The American World No. 61 had not advanced beyond the second round in six tournaments before this week, but he finally broke his duck on Wednesday. A 6-4 7-6 win over Filip Krajinovic sealed his place in the last eight of the Dubai Open and is guaranteed to re-enter the world’s top 60.
Mackenzie McDonald leads Andrey Rublev 1-0 in their head-to-head. That win came in the 2019 Australian Open where Rublev suffered a frustrating four-set loss. Things were a lot different back then. Rublev was outside the world’s top 100 after injuries threatened to derail his career. But he has steered himself into the limelight as one of the best tennis players of his generation. Rublev has an intimidating presence on a tennis court owing to his ferocious ground strokes. McDonald is a solid baseliner and has already troubled the likes of Aslan Karatsev and Krajinovic with excellent court coverage. But if Rublev stays perfect in executing his shots, there is very little the American can do to stop him.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win in straight sets.
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