Defending Champion Medvedev Is the Player to Beat in Dubai
Dubai Tennis Championships Odds Led by 2023 Finalists Medvedev and Rublev
Three Top-10 Players Headline the Men’s Field at the Dubai Tour Stop
There are plenty of big hitters set to compete in the ATP 500 event in Dubai with the Dubai Tennis Championship odds being headlined by Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.
Two other tournaments are running at the same time with a hard-court event in Acapulco and a clay-court tournament in Santiago, Chile.
The defending champion and two of the top five seeds withdrew from the WTA stop in Dubai so the hope is that the ATP 500 event will have better luck in the injury department.
When looking at the tennis futures odds, Medvedev is priced at +3300 to win at least two Grand Slam singles titles in 2024 while Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz are both at +800 in the odds of reaching at least one Grand Slam singles final this year.
Medvedev has +135 odds to play his way to at least two Grand Slam titles in 2024. He is already halfway there thanks to his strong showing at the Australian Open.
Keep on reading for an early look at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with the men’s main draw starting on Monday.
Medvedev Eyeing A Repeat
Daniil capped a dominant run in Dubai with wins against No. 8 seed Borna Coric in the quarterfinals, a 6-4, 6-4 win against Djokovic in the semifinals, and then the win versus Rublev in the 2023 Dubai final.
Tournament organizers would be just fine if the tennis matchups happen to feature another Medvedev-Rublev final.
Medvedev dropped from No. 3 to No. 4 in the ATP rankings after falling to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open singles final.
Medvedev will look to get back to his winning ways in a tournament where he has enjoyed success. He is the player to beat according to the Dubai tennis championships odds.
A Look At the Other Top Contenders
With back-to-back trips to the finals, 2022 Dubai champion Rublev is among the players to watch when it comes to the Dubai Tennis Championships odds.
Rublev just fell in the quarterfinals in Doha. He followed up a run to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open with a quarterfinal appearance in Rotterdam.
Hubert Hurkacz had a quick exit in Rotterdam, losing to No. 29 Tallon Griekspoor in his second match and making it to the semifinals at the ATP250 tournament in Marseille.
He was involved in an entertaining five-set match with Medvedev at the Australian Open so keep that in mind if there is a rematch in Dubai.
Karen Khachanov and Ugo Humbert are others on the Dubai entry list who reached the Doha quarterfinals. Khachavov has advanced to the semifinals in Doha. He also reached the semifinals in his previous tournament in Marseille.
Khachanov, a 2020 quarterfinalist in Dubai, has played in each of the seven tournament in Dubai.
Another the other tennis players in the field in 2012 Dubai finalist Andy Murray.
A Look At the U.S. Hopes
Many of the top American players are skipping this event.
Sebastian Korda is the top American in the main draw.
Kareem Al Allaf, the only American in the men’s qualifying bracket, lost his first match to Australia’s Christopher O’Connell.
Canada’s Milos Raonic, who had to retire in him in the match against Sinner in Rotterdam has pulled out of the Dubai event.
A Quick History Lesson
The Dubai Tennis Championships began as an ATP 250 tournament in 1993 with Karel Nováček winning the inaugural event. Each of the first seven men’s finals were decided in straight sets.
Roger Federer won the tournament four times from 2003-07 and only a loss to Rafael Nadal in 2006 kept him from capturing the tournament five years in a row.
Federer won the tournament a record eight times with Novak Djokovic being a five-time champion in Dubai.
Rublev was denied being the first back-to-back champion in Dubai since Roger Federer in 2016 and 2017 when he fell to Medvedev 6-2, 6-2 in last year’s final.
Medvedev didn’t drop a set as he won a title for the third week in a row. He ended Djokovic’s 21-match winning streak in the 2023 semifinals.
What’s Up Next
The top players will head to the United States for a pair of two-week ATP 1000 events with the tour stops in Indian Wells and Miami next up when it comes to the upcoming tennis tournaments.
After those two hard-court events, the focus will turn to the French Open preparations with the next 11 tournaments being played on clay.
While there is a tournament in Houston beginning in early April, most of the tournaments will be held in Europe when the clay-court season gets underway.
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