Alexei Popyrin and Pavel Kotov will face each other in the first round of the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday, February 27.
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Only one more victory is required for Alexei Popyrin to match his record of three wins in the main draw of tour-level competitions from 2022. In just three matches this year, he has amassed four such victories, including two victories over players ranked in the top 10: Felix Auger Aliassime in Adelaide and Taylor Fritz at the Australian Open. The former winner of the Boys’ French Open has ties to Dubai because he spent a brief period of time there when he was eight years old. He has invested a lot of time training in the area, and the UAE Tennis Federation has helped him out by awarding him wildcards for qualifying in 2017 and 2018 as well as a main-draw wildcard in 2021.
Pavel Kotov defeated fellow Russian Roman Safiullin in the qualifying round and Alexander Shevchenko in the qualifying round to earn a spot in the main draw in Dubai (retired). Given his underwhelming performance in 2023, his qualification for the main draw this week comes as a surprise. The former world number 96 experienced setbacks in each of his previous four 2023 performances. He was defeated twice in two matches at the Australian Open (QR3 and R1, as a lucky loser), outclassed by Dane Sweeny and Vit Kopriva at the Challenger level in Canberra and Manama, respectively, and in the ATP Doha qualifiers, he came awfully close to losing to Yuki Bhambri, 4-6 6-3 7-5, a player who gave up the singles format last month.
| Alexei Popyrin vs Pavel Kotov | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | February 27, 2023 |
| Surface | Hard |
| Tournament | Dubai Tennis Championships |
| Stage | Round of 32 |
| Time (India) | 6:45 pm |
| Time (Dubai) | 5:15 pm |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Thanasi Kokkinakis | 6-3, 7-6 (L) |
| Viktor Durasovic | 6-1, 1-6, 4-6 (W) |
| Otto Virtanen | 7-5, 6-2 (W) |
| Ben Shelton | 3-6, 6-7, 4-6 (L) |
| Taylor Fritz | 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6 (W) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Alexander Shevchenko | Walkover (W) |
| Roman Safuillin | 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 (W) |
| Oleksii Krutykh | 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 (L) |
| Yuki Bhambri | 6-4, 3-6, 5-7 (W) |
| Vit Kopriva | 6-2, 6-1 (L) |
Alexei Popyrin has a 1-0 lead. Pavel Kotov can make this a close match if he serves well and plays well, but based on his recent results, Alexei Popyrin ought to be able to prevail.
Alexei Popyrin and Pavel Kotov will face each other in the first round of the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday, February 27.
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