Alexei Popyrin is set to get a crack at Alex de Minaur in Dubai this week for the first time since he achieved a milestone that has so far eluded the man he’s chasing as Australian No.1.
When Popyrin won the Canadian Open to much surprise last September, it gave him his first triumph in an ATP Masters 1000 event, something that the world No.8 de Minaur has coveted yet been unable to achieve so far in his flourishing career.
That victory proved the launchpad for ‘Poppy’ to then beat Novak Djokovic at the US Open and surge to no.23 in the world, but his start to 2025 has been beset by injury and illness as he’s yet to win a tour-level match this year in four attempts.
But at this week’s Dubai Championships, Popyrin, now at No.27 in the rankings, will still be a warm favourite to beat Lebanese wildcard Hady Habib in Monday’s opening match, with victory setting up a prospective second-round clash with de Minaur.
De Minaur agonisingly lost to eventual champion Andrey Rublev in an epic Qatar Open quarter-final last week which saw him save seven match points and miss out on one of his own.
But he’s in form and should overcome his first-round challenge in Dubai against Marin Cilic on Tuesday, though it’s never easy against the 36-year-old Croatian veteran.
The resilient Cilic has been battling with knee trouble for two years but still managed to become the lowest-ranked player ever to win an ATP Tour title last year at the Hangzhou Open.
The former US Open champion has a 2-2 record against de Minaur, with the Australian dominating their last encounter three years ago in the Davis Cup semi-final.
De Minaur and Popyrin have played three times on tour, with ‘Demon’ holding a 2-1 advantage, having won their last encounter on clay in Monte Carlo last year.
Rublev again looms as a danger to No.2 seed de Minaur on the same side of the draw, with the pair scheduled to meet this time in the semi-finals.
Top seed is Daniil Medvedev, who had to withdraw from his Qatar Open quarter-final with food poisoning.
There’ll be a third Australian in the draw after Chris O’Connell beat Dutchman Botic van der Zandschulp 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in the final round of qualifying on Sunday, but the Sydneysider will face a tough opener against sixth-seed Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday.
Rising Briton Jack Draper, who was beaten in the Qatar final by Rublev, withdrew from the tournament on Sunday, saying he wanted to “manage” his body after a number of long matches and give himself “the best chance of competing consistently throughout the year.”
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au