Dubai Tennis Championships 2022: Andrey Rublev vs Kwon Soon-woo preview, head-to-head and prediction
Match details
Fixture: (2) Andrey Rublev vs Kwon Soon-woo.
Date: 23 February 2022.
Tournament: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2022.
Round: Second Round (Round of 16).
Venue: Dubai, UAE.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.
Prize money: $2,794,840
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Andrey Rublev vs Kwon Soon-woo preview
Second seed Andrey Rublev will square off against Kwon Soon-woo in the second round of the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday.
Rublev scored a convincing 6-4, 7-5 win over Dan Evans in the opening round. The Brit put up quite the fight at times, even saving six match points across two of his service games towards the end. But the second seed got the job done on his seventh attempt.
Rublev made a slow start to the season that saw him exit the Australian Open in the third round. He has raised his level considerably over the last few weeks. His title defense at the Rotterdam Open ended against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals.
However, he defeated the Canadian in the final of the Open 13 Provence last week to win his first title of the year. Rublev also won the doubles title there. The Russian will now look to continue his winning ways in Dubai as well.
Through the pain that we share. Always keep light inside🖤 #9 https://t.co/9oY2Kvxtbe
Kwon Soon-woo kicked off his Dubai challenge with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ilya Ivashka. He was pretty solid throughout the match, mostly aided by a superb serving performance. He didn't lose his serve at all and won 80% of his first and second serve points.
Kwon has been rather consistent this season, losing in the second round of every tournament he has competed in so far. However, it was the first time he had reached this stage at the Australian Open. The 24-year will now be eager to break this trend in Dubai.
Andrey Rublev vs Kwon Soon-woo head-to-head
Rublev leads the head-to-head against Kwon 1-0, having won their solitary meeting at the 2022 Rotterdam Open 6-3, 6-3 just a couple of weeks ago.
Andrey Rublev vs Kwon Soon-woo prediction
Based on his recent form, Rublev will be the firm favorite to win this contest. Kwon hasn't made it past the second round of any tournament this year. He has also lost all five of his previous matches against top 10 players.
🤩After an amazing match Andrey Rublev takes the win! 6-4, 7-5 🎾🤩
@AndreyRublev97 https://t.co/TjKKIXgJ6I
#DDFTennis #ATP @ATPTour
Having played their previous match rather recently, they'll know what to expect in this encounter against each other. Back then, Rublev won 91% of his first serve points. However, he won only three of the 13 break point chances he had, as Kwon is quite good at playing defensively and erasing deficits.
One aspect where Kwon struggled was making inroads on the Rublev serve. He was unable to handle the Russian's booming serve and was a little overwhelmed by his powerful groundstrokes as the match progressed. It's likely he'll be blown off the court once again.
Rublev's built up quite the winning streak now and it doesn't look like Kwon will be the one to end it.
Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win in straight sets.
Also Check Out: Dubai Tennis Championships Results 2022