Tennis: Neal Abrams looks at the early morning matches from Dubai

Dubai Duty Free Championships
Dubai, U.A.E.
Second Round Singles Matches

Kei Nishikori over Hubert Hurkacz
Nishikori made short work of the tough Frenchman Benoit Paire and I expect him to do the same to Hurkacz. Since Hurkacz has been winning a lot lately it wouldn’t surprise me if he took a set, but seeing that Kei took out Paire so easily it appears that he’s really on his game, and when he’s on his game he makes so few errors that it feels like you’re playing against a backboard that can run. It’s hard to beat a backboard, and Hurkacz won’t.

Stefanos Tsitsipas over Egor Gerasimov
Tsitsipas lost a set to England’s Matthew Ebden because the big Brit served really well. Although Gerasimov serves big too, he will just be cannon fodder for the Greek God. Tsitsipas, who has a complete all-court game, makes the game look easy, like Roger Federer. He’ll move on.

Gael Monfils over Marcos Baghdatis
Monfils showed all of his athleticism in his terrific first round victory over former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic. In the third set, which Monfils won 6-0, he played flawlessly, and it shows why he is now 4-0 against Cilic. Monfils is playing way too well for Baghdatis, who has seen a bit of a resurgence these last seven weeks by winning a few matches, which, as a spectator, is nice to see. Even so, Baghdatis and Monfils play very similar games, but the spectacular Frenchman simply plays it better. Monfils will send the Cypriot packing.

Roberto Bautista Agut over Nikoloz Basilashvili
Basilashvili just destroyed Karen Khachanov, who is having trouble winning matches this year despite his exalted ranking and always being seeded. I’ve learned my lesson and won’t pick Khachanov to win anymore, even in doubles, where he and Medvedev, paired together, lost in the first round yesterday. Nonetheless, Bautista Agut is a player that Americans will learn to like. He’s really good, he wins a lot, and he’s tough as nails….and Americans like that. He’ll move on even though Basilashvili will battle him.

Roger Federer over Fernando Verdasco
Federer won a tough three set match over the veteran German Philipp Kohlschreiber to move to 14-0 against him. Afterwards he was quoted as saying that the conditions were tough in Dubai and it was hard to control the ball. Well, if it’s hard for Federer, it must be miserable for the players that have to play him. Normally, Verdasco presents unusual problems for almost all the players because he’s a lefty, and solid as a rock. But we’re talking about Fed here. Fed will roll, as champions always find a way to win, even when they aren’t playing their best.