The 32nd edition of the Qatar Open has already witnessed some major withdrawals, but that will only serve as a golden opportunity for those looking to prey on it.
The draw for this year's event was released, minus Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev, who were expected to be the headliners but ended up withdrawing for this ATP 250 tournament scheduled to commence on February 19th as the tour makes its customary stop at the Middle East.
It is a relatively small field of 28 players, with the top four seeds each receiving a bye in the opening round. Andrey Rublev was instilled as the top seed following the withdrawal of defending champion Medvedev.
The World No. 5 will begin his campaign against the winner of the match between new Kazakh national Alexander Shevchenko and Richard Gasquet, who is one of three wild cards in the draw. Former champion Andy Murray is seeking his first win of 2024 and will play a qualifier to begin with.
Ugo Humbert recently broke the world's Top 20 and features in the top half along with Rublev. The in-form Frenchman will play either Lorenzo Sonego or Pavel Kotov in the second round.
There is the likelihood Humbert could face countryman Gael Monfils in the quarterfinal. But the former finalist will need to overcome Botic van de Zandschulp in his opener and potentially seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti.
In the bottom half, second seed Karen Khachanov will look to improve on his semifinal showing. He will start his Dubai adventure, in all probability, against Fabian Marozsan. The Hungarian is favored to scale his first-round match against a qualifier.
Khachanov is on a quarterfinal collision against Jan Lennard Struff in what will be a battle of heavy hitters. But whether the German will get there is unpredictable. Struff plays Christopher O'Connell, who is far from a cushy opponent, in the first round.
Should he navigate that test, then Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori could prove to be a stumbling block. Fourth seed Alexander Bublik is brimming with confidence, and he is a contender for the title.
The flamboyant Kazakh awaits the winner of the match between Roberto Bautista Agut and Marton Fucsovics. You can check the complete draw of the 2024 Qatar Open below.
2024 Qatar Open Doha ATP Draw:
| 1 | Andrey Rublev (1) |
| 2 | BYE |
| 3 | Alexander Shevchenko |
| 4 | Richard Gasquet (WC) |
| 5 | Qualifier |
| 6 | Andy Murray |
| 7 | Jakub Mensik |
| 8 | Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (5) |
| 9 | Ugo Humbert (3) |
| 10 | BYE |
| 11 | Pavel Kotov |
| 12 | Lorenzo Sonego |
| 13 | Gael Monfils (WC) |
| 14 | Botic van de Zandschulp |
| 15 | Zhizhen Zhang |
| 16 | Lorenzo Musetti (7) |
| 17 | Tallon Griekspoor (8) |
| 18 | Qualifier |
| 19 | Alexei Popyrin |
| 20 | Abdullah Shelbayh (WC) |
| 21 | Marton Fucsovics |
| 22 | Roberto Bautista Agut |
| 23 | BYE |
| 24 | Alexander Bublik (4) |
| 25 | Jan-Lennard Struff (6) |
| 26 | Christopher O'Connell |
| 27 | Qualifier |
| 28 | Emil Ruusuvuori |
| 29 | Fabian Marozsan |
| 30 | Qualifier |
| 31 | BYE |
| 32 | Karen Khachanov (2) |
0 Comments