Tuesday tennis acca tips: Elena Rybakina to bounce back in Dubai

There is an overload of tennis action in the coming week with three ATP Tour events and two full WTA Tour events.

The highest profile of these events are the WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships and the ATP 500 Rio Open.

Here we make picks for selected matches on Tuesday 20 February.

 

ATP Los Cabos: Miomir Kecmanovic vs Rinky Hijikata | Pick: Kecmanovic

ATP Los Cabos: Taro Daniel vs Marcos Giron | Pick: Giron

ATP Rio De Janeiro: Roberto Carballes Baena vs Christian Garin | Pick: Carballes Baena

ATP Rio De Janeiro: Yannick Hanfmann vs Nicolas Jarry | Pick: Jarry

WTA Dubai: Maria Sakkari vs Emma Navarro | Pick: Sakkari

WTA Dubai: Marketa Vondrousova vs Peyton Stearns | Pick: Vondrousova

WTA Dubai: Nao Hibino vs Qinwen Zheng | Pick: Zheng

WTA Dubai: Victoria Azarenka vs Elena Rybakina | Pick: Rybakina

 

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ATP Los Cabos: Miomir Kecmanovic vs Rinky Hijikata

Miomir Kecmanovic and Rinky Hijikata will share the court for the first time in ATP Tour competition.

Kecmanovic holds the rankings edge but has a weaker recent record on hard courts having won just 13 of 31 matches on the surface in the last year.

Meanwhile, Hijikata has a 16-16 record on hard courts in the last year.

Kecmanovic may not find hard courts to be the easiest surface but should still have the quality to defeat the Australian.

 

ATP Los Cabos: Taro Daniel vs Marcos Giron

There may be just 11 rankings places between these players but the gulf in form is a bit wider with Marcus Giron being a semi-finalist at Delray Beach.

For Daniel, Delray Beach proved a tough assignment as he lost first up to unheralded Italian Flavio Cobolli.

Giron is in good touch and has beaten Daniel in their only previous singles match.

Daniel has appeared in a final this season but that performance came in a sparse field at the Auckland Classic.

 

ATP Rio De Janeiro: Roberto Carballes Baena vs Christian Garin

Roberto Carballes Baena and Christian Garin are both out to snap a run of poor results.

Garin is yet to win an ATP Tour main draw match in 2024 having lost in the first round in each of the three tournaments he has played in so far in 2024.

Carballes Baena has done slightly better but three losses in four matches betray a player lacking confidence.

The two head-to-head wins Carballes Baena owns over Garin might prove to be just the sort of boost he needs to defeat his South American opponent.

 

ATP Rio De Janeiro: Yannick Hanfmann vs Nicolas Jarry

A fourth meeting on clay between Yannick Hanfmann and Nicolas Jarry points to the Chilean progressing.

Jarry has defeated Hanfmann twice in three meetings although the German did win their last meeting.

This match takes place not long after Jarry's final loss in Argentina but he shouldn't be too badly impacted by that.

Jarrry has the game to comfortably see off Hanfmann and will want to back up a strong effort last week with another big run in an event that offers a big rankings bump.

 

WTA Dubai: Maria Sakkari vs Emma Navarro

Maria Sakkari has to deal with a tough first round draw as she faces up-and-coming American Emma Navarro.

Navarro has been ascendant of late and is a major threat to the seeded star in this clash.

Sakkari isn't helped by having lost in her opening match last week.

Navarro has also already played in Dubai as Sakkari enjoyed a bye through the Round of 64.

 

WTA Dubai: Marketa Vondrousova vs Peyton Stearns

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova hasn't really found form since her great championship run at SW19. She takes on another American with big ambitions in Peyton Stearns.

Vondrousova owns two head-to-head wins over Stearns including a straight sets triumph during her Wimbledon run.

Vondrousova will be tough to stop in this one but Stearns won't be under pressure to get the result.

 

WTA Dubai: Nao Hibino vs Qinwen Zheng

Its and all-Asian clash as Japan's Nao Hibino takes on Chinese star Qinwen Zheng.

Zheng is playing in just her third match since reaching the Australian Open final.

The Chinese player is at a career-high ranking and playing great tennis making her a tough prospect for anyone to face.

Hibino is ranked No 90 in the world and shouldn't really have a chance in this clash.

 

WTA Dubai: Victoria Azarenka vs Elena Rybakina

The action gets a blockbuster twist when former World No 1 Victoria Azarenka battles Elena Rybakina.

Rybakina was a finalist in Doha last week but lost to Iga Swiatek in the championship match.

Rybakina has beaten Azarenka in both the past meetings between these players with the latter yet to take a set off her opponent.

The Kazakhstan No 1 won eight matches in a row leading into the final in Doha and will bounce back from that setback.