Marton Monus/dpa – Photo by Icon Sport
Hubert Hurkacz vs Jan-Lennard Struff: ATP Dubai – First round
Two experienced players will face each other in the opening round of the ATP Dubai tournament.
Hubert Hurkacz Profile
Hubert Hurkacz is enjoying the best career ranking, being No. 8 in the world. The Polish is 11-5 for the season and 7-3 on hard surfaces.
He is coming off a round of 16 loss to Tallon Griekspoor after three tiebreaks in Rotterdam.
Earlier this season, Hurkacz made it to the Australian Open quarterfinals, losing to Daniil Medvedev. He reached the semifinals in Marseille and had a couple of wins in the United Cup and Davis Cup.
This is his sixth appearance in Dubai, and his best result came in 2022, when he reached the semifinals. Hurkacz has a total of seven ATP titles, and he won two last year in Marseille and Shanghai.
Jan-Lennard Struff Profile
Jan-Lennard Struff is currently 25th in the ATP rankings, four spots lower than his career high. He is 4-5 for the season and 2-3 on hard surfaces.
The German is coming off a 6-4 opening round loss in Doha to Christopher O’Connell.
Previously this season, Struff lost in the second round of each of the tournaments he played—the Australian Open, ATP Rotterdam, and ATP Hong Kong.
This will be his seventh appearance in Dubai, and his best result was the quarterfinal in 2020.
Struff has never won an ATP title and has won 12 lower-level tournaments.
Head-to-Head – Struff leads 2-1
- Hurkacz vs Struff 6-1, 6-4 (2023 ATP Basel, round of 16)
- Struff vs Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 (2023 ATP Stuttgart, semifinal)
- Struff vs Hurkacz 7-6, 6-4, 6-1 (2016 Davis Cup)
Prediction and Conclusion
Both players are in the top 25 and have been playing in Dubai for many years. Hurkacz has had a much better season than Struff, who is still looking for his best tennis. Hurkacz plays well on surfaces like this one in Dubai, and it will be very hard for Struff to break him. However, Struff also has a solid first serve and moves well on the court. Struff has defeated Hurkacz twice before and will definitely be competitive in this match as well. Both players will hold their serves most of the time, which will take the match over 22.5 games in total.
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