2020 Dubai Open – Dan Evans vs Stefanos Tsitsipas Preview & Prediction

THE FACTS

Where is Dan Evans vs Stefanos Tsitsipas taking place? Aviation Club Tennis Centre, Dubai, UAE

When is Dan Evans vs Stefanos Tsitsipas on and what time does it start? Tuesday 25^th February, 2020 – not before 13:00 (UK)

What is the expected weather for Dan Evans vs Stefanos Tsitsipas? Sunny, 24c

What channel is Dan Evans vs Stefanos Tsitsipas on? This match will not be televised live in the UK

Where can I stream Dan Evans vs Stefanos Tsitsipas in the UK? Amazon Prime or Tennis TV subscribers may be able to stream the match

Where can I get tickets for Dan Evans vs Stefanos Tsitsipas? Click here to purchase tickets for the 2020 Dubai Open

Who won the last meeting between Dan Evans vs Stefanos Tsitsipas? N/A

THE LOWDOWN

DAN EVANS

• Dan Evans was emphatic early on against 6th seed Andrey Rublev in their quarter-final, breaking the Russian twice in the first set before seeing out a very close second set.
• The nature of the win against a player rankled 14^th in the world, and with two ATP titles to his name already this year, makes this one of the British number one’s best days on tour and he is set to break the top 30 for the first time next Monday.
• The 29-year-old has also taken out 4th seed Fabio Fognini and will face Stefanos Tsitsipas for the first time with no fear, but Evans has spent a vastly longer time on court than the rest of the draw.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS

• Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame the robust challenge of Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in his quarter-final match, coming back from a set down to eventually show his class in the latter stages of the third.
• The 21-year-old looked tired on court and has played plenty of tennis recently, with this now his seventh straight win having come to Dubai off the back of a title-winning campaign at the Marseille Open.
• The Greek came back from a set down to beat Gael Monfils in the semi-final of the Dubai Open this time last year before losing to Roger Federer in the final, but this time around it will likely be Novak Djokovic waiting if he wins here.

THE PREDICTION

Dan Evans had reached the quarter-finals of all four ATP tour tournaments featured in this year, excluding the Australian Open, but played fantastically well against Andrey Rublev on Thursday to go one better. Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas turned it around against Jan-Lennard Struff to avoid a potential banana skin, but his reward is another in-form player with nothing to lose. Nobody expects Dan Evans to win this match, and the current British number one has all the tools and awkward weapons to cause his best ever upset on the big court at the Dubai Open here.

Tsitsipas is of course the favourite, and should be winning this match to go through to the final, but Evans’ ability to out-think certain elite players – like Rublev on Wednesday – should be in full view in front a big crowd. There is something in the way the 29-year-old has carried himself this week, and if he can play like he has against Alex de Minaur, David Goffin and now Rublev this year, he can shock the second seed out of this tournament.