Tennis acca tips for Thursday, February 22: Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek to continue hot streak

Gauff, Swiatek and Rybakina are all in action at the Dubai Tennis Championships which is a WTA 1000 event that promises a major rankings boost for the winner

Dubai is also a great chance for players to position themselves for a strong Sunshine Double next month.

 

ATP Doha: Andrey Rublev vs Jakub Mensik | Pick: Rublev

ATP Doha: Ugo Humbert vs Gael Monfils | Pick: Humbert

ATP Rio De Janeiro: Facundo Diaz Acosta vs Sebastian Baez | Pick: Baez

ATP Rio De Janeiro: Mariano Navone vs Yannick Hanfmann | Pick: Hanfmann

ATP Rio De Janeiro: Thiago Monteiro vs Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves | Pick: Monteiro

WTA Dubai: Jasmine Paolini vs Elena Rybakina | Pick: Rybakina

WTA Dubai: Iga Swiatek vs Qinwen Zheng | Pick: Swiatek

WTA Dubai: Coco Gauff vs Anna Kalinskaya | Pick: Gauff

 

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ATP Doha: Andrey Rublev vs Jakub Mensik

 

Andrey Rublev and Jakub Mensik will go head-to-head against each other in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open in what will be a maiden career meeting between the players.

Mensik has already picked up a pair of big scalps in this tournament seeing off Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Andy Murray.

Meanwhile, Rublev came through a tricky test against Richard Gasquet to reach the last eight.

Rublev may have flipped out in his last loss but he is more than capable of coming back and doing something special in Doha.

 

ATP Doha: Ugo Humbert vs Gael Monfils

 

Ugo Humbert gets to take on one of his role models, Gael Monfils, in an all-French encounter.

Humbert has become France's top player recently but will still have a lot of respect for his veteran compatriot.

This will be the third meeting between the pair with the head-to-head 2-0 in favour of Humbert and 1-0 on hard courts.

Humbert is appearing in Doha for the first time but his recent form suggests he will have the beating of Monfils.

 

ATP Rio De Janeiro: Facundo Diaz Acosta vs Sebastian Baez

 

Argentine compatriots Facundo Diaz Acosta and Sebastian Baez will contest their fifth career meeting on the clay in Rio.

The players met in the last eight in Cordoba two weeks ago with Baez breezing to a straight-sets win.

However, Acosta comes into the match having won six on the bounce since that defeat and has the Argentina Open trophy to show for it.

Despite Acosta's good form, Baez will know how to unpick the ATP Tour's most recent champion.

 

ATP Rio De Janeiro: Mariano Navone vs Yannick Hanfmann

 

Yannick Hanfmann and Mariano Navone are set for a first meeting in a singles competition.

Hanfmann knocked out Nicolas Jarry in the first round in Rio, which was a warning to his fellow challengers.

Navone reached this stage by defeating Federico Coria in a first-round upset after he battled through the qualifying tournament.

After that upset it may end up being the end of the road for Navone against the aggressive Hanfmann.

 

ATP Rio De Janeiro: Thiago Monteiro vs Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves

 

Thiago Moura Monteiro and Felipe Meligeni Alves will clash in the second round of the Rio Open in what will be the second singles meeting of their careers.

Monteiro benefitted from the retirement of Carlos Alcaraz, but given the Spaniard started the match it ranks as a top ten win for the No 117.

Meanwhile, Alves had to battle through qualifying although he beat some good players to do so.

Alves has spent much more time on court than his opponent which could count in his favour or work against him. 

 

WTA Dubai: Jasmine Paolini vs Elena Rybakina

 

The head-to-head between Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina is locked at 1-1.

Rybakina retired just one game away from defeat to Paolini in Cincinnati last term, which was seen as a controversial decision.

Paolini might feel she has a point to prove against the 2022 Wimbledon champion.

Rybakina has been in great touch though and will take some stopping.

 

WTA Dubai: Iga Swiatek vs Qinwen Zheng

 

While Qinwen Zheng has risen up the rankings, she has always struggled in matches against Iga Swiatek.

They most recently met in January at the United Cup with Swiatek winning comfortably..

Swiatek is on a seven-match winning streak at the moment and looks the clear Dubai favourite.

Zheng can make a huge statement with her performance here but a win looks unlikely given that she has lost all five previous encounters with Swiatek

 

WTA Dubai: Coco Gauff vs Anna Kalinskaya

 

Anna Kalinskaya is out to secure another big upset to back up her win over Jelena Ostapenko.

However, she faces a player who is probably the most improved in the last year in Gauff.

Gauff got back to winning ways in Dubai after a disappointing loss in Doha's Round of 16.

This will be the first-ever meeting between these players in singles.