Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, 1st Round: Roger Federer vs Philipp Kohlschreiber, Preview and Prediction
20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer takes on the German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round at the 2019 Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. Though the head to head record is pretty lopsided in favour of the Swiss maestro, this could still be a tricky encounter as Kohlschreiber has the game to topple anyone with his variety and experience.
Federer enjoys a 13-0 head to head record against the German, but some of those matches have gone to the wire. Moreover, the Swiss maestro has not had the best of starts to the season.
He entered the Australian Open as the two-time defending champion, but crashed out in the fourth round to the next-gen star from Greece, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in four tight sets that involved three tie-breaks.
Since then, Federer has not played any competitive tennis. But he has a great record in Dubai, winning the title seven times and reaching the final nine times.
He would not only like to add an eighth title to his kitty, but also pocket his 100th title on the tour here.
The absence of Novak Djokovic would certainly make him feel very confident of his chances. But he would have to first ensure that he does not have a sluggish start after a lengthy break.
Unlike Federer, his opponent in the first round has played a lot of tennis recently, though without much success.
The German began the year relatively well by reaching the semi-final stage at the Auckland Open, where he lost to Tennys Sandgren. But he lost in the second round of the Australian Open and followed that by two first round losses at Open Sud de France and Rotterdam Open to Radu Albot and Milos Raonic respectively.
If he has to pose any challenge to Federer, Kohlschreiber would need to ensure that he attacks the Swiss maestro early and does not let him get off to a fast start. If he can make the match competitive, recent history suggests that Federer is prone to making a lot of unforced errors.
That could be Kohlschreiber's best shot at a first win over Federer in 14 attempts.
Prediction: Roger Federer to win in straight sets.