Match details
Fixation: Andrey Rublev against Roberto Bautista Agut
Dated: March 12, 2021
Tournament: Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2021
Round: Semi finals
Location: Doha, qatar
Category: ATP 250
Area: Outdoor hard court
Prize money: $ 787,930
Match timing: About. 6:00 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. IST
Live broadcast: United States – Tennis Channel
Andrey Rublev vs Roberto Bautista Agut preview
The ExxonMobil 2021 Qatar Open semi-final will see defending champion Andrey Rublev face fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut on Friday.
The two men had very different runs going into the last four of this year’s tournament. While Rublev has been cleared to pass in his last two matches, his opponent has had to beat him in tight competitions.
Bautista Agut started his week with victories over Reilly Opelka and Alexander Bublik. But the real test for the Spaniard came in the quarter-finals, where he managed to outlast seed Dominic Thiem after two and a half hours of play.
Bautista Agut delivered a solid performance in this game, and was particularly impressive on the return, breaking Thiem’s ​​serve five times.
Against another big Rublev server, Bautista Agut hopes to release somewhat similar numbers.
Prediction Andrey Rublev vs Roberto Bautista Agut
Andrey Rublev and Roberto Bautista Agut have split their previous four meetings so that their current head-to-head is at a 2-2 deadlock. That said, it is the Russian who took part in the last two meetings of the duo.
Prediction Andrey Rublev vs Roberto Bautista Agut
Andrey Rublev entered the Qatar Open on a five-game winning streak, having recently won the title in Rotterdam. With a first-round bye and walkovers since, Rublev is said to be well rested as he contemplates a second consecutive appearance in the final.
Even for Roberto Bautista Agut, this match is a chance for a second final in 2021. The Spaniard narrowly missed in the clash at the top of the Open Sud de France, and he seems to have regained his best form in recent weeks.
It seems like a battle between Rublev’s serving prowess and the return of Bautista Agut. The Russian gained plenty of points behind his first delivery, but he will likely be tested against a confident-looking Bautista Agut.
If the Spaniard can push Rublev onto the back in some of the early exchanges, he could just put some pressure on the serve. He’s also hoping for a few tiebreaker sets as he’s been clinical in the big-point conversion lately.
But if Rublev picks up where he left off in Rotterdam, those opportunities are going to be very rare for the Spaniard. The Russian is clearly a favorite on paper, and if he pulls out his A game he could have too much firepower for a possibly exhausted Bautista Agut.
Prediction: Andrey Rublev wins in three sets.
