There is still a desire to head to Indian Wells as he takes good care of his body and makes sure he is ready to compete when the clay court season rolls around in April. However, it only strengthens the feeling that this may be his last year on the Tour and that really begin the passing of the torch to the next generation, if we have not already begun to see that happening.
Finding another Rafael Nadal is going to be as difficult as finding another Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic, but the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz can take the Tour forward. Both are already Grand Slam Champions and the hope amongst fans is that they can push each other to great heights in the years ahead.
The WTA tournament in Doha has reached the Quarter Final Round and the three ATP tournaments are effectively a day behind with their own Quarter Final line up completed on Thursday and played on Friday.
Like many Middle East tournaments, the Finals are played on Saturday rather than Sunday and that is the case in Doha and expected to be the case in Dubai when the WTA Tour pitches up there next.
The ATP tournament in Doha will begin next week before the Dubai tournament is next up, although the names involved are perhaps not the elite list we have come to expect.
Below are the selections from the Quarter Final matches to be played in Doha- nothing in Rotterdam appealed as the Second Round is concluded and any selections from Buenos Aires or Delray Beach from the Second Round matches to be played there on Thursday will be added on the day.
Danielle Collins - 1.5 games v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: A tough First Round win in the Qualifiers aside, Danielle Collins has continued to play at a high level in Doha and she has four matches in a row in straight sets to reach the Quarter Final.
Despite the fast court conditions at the tournament, Danielle Collins will know she needs to be a bit more effective behind serve if she is going to move into the final four.
No one should be too concerned about the performances behind the first serve, but Collins will not want to allow Anastasia Pavyluchenkova to have too many looks at the second serve. The aggressive American has been confident on the return in the tournament and it will be a match that Collins can feel she can win as long as she serves as she can.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova snapped a losing run to Marketa Vondrousova in the Third Round and will be looking to do the same in this Quarter Final. All three previous matches have ended in defeat against Danielle Collins and the Russian has not been effective enough on the return of serve.
She will go for her big shots and that should mean some success for Pavlyuchenkova when she is able to set her feet, but the aggression of Danielle Collins means there will be plenty of pace coming her way too.
The Russian player has been very good on the return in this tournament, but her own serve has not been working as well as it could and it is Danielle Collins who can progress.
Naomi Osaka - 1.5 games v Karolina Pliskova: She may have benefited from a walkover in the Third Round, but Naomi Osaka has won back to back matches in Doha prior to that. This is the first time she has managed to do that in a hard court tournament since the Miami Masters back in March 2022, although of course Naomi Osaka has had a year out from competitive tennis.
One of the few matches played in 2024 was against Karolina Pliskova and Naomi Osaka was beaten in a very tight, competitive match.
She will be hoping to turn that result around as she did against Caroline Garcia and there has to be an accumulated fatigue in play working against Pliskova.
After winning the title in Cluj on Sunday, Karolina Pliskova was playing in Doha on Monday and she has won a match on each of the last three days to reach another Quarter Final. Confidence will have been given a real boost by the fight and quality of tennis she has produced, but Karolina Pliskova has spent over six hours on the court and has had to come from a set down twice.
She should have been beaten in the Third Round, but Linda Noskova struggled to put away her compatriot when serving for the match. That can happen to younger players trying to beat a veteran from the same country, but Karolina Pliskova is facing someone who is motivated to show they belong back with the elite on the WTA Tour and someone who will want to earn a measure of revenge for a tight defeat.
Take nothing away from the run Karolina Pliskova is on, but it is tough to sustain the wins when playing on the tight margins. The second serve is likely going to be attacked by Naomi Osaka and it may be tough for Pliskova to really get a good feeling in the return.
It could be tight again with Osaka still getting up to speed, but she should be the physically fresher player and that may show up in this Quarter Final.
Carlos Alcaraz - 5.5 games v Camilo Ugo Carabelli: The Australian Open ended a little prematurely as far as Carlos Alcaraz would be concerned, but he has decided to take in the South American Golden Swing for a second year in a row.
He had a very successful time in South America twelve months ago and Carlos Alcaraz will be defending his title in Buenos Aires.
The move from the hard courts to the clay courts should not be a massive issue for someone like Alcaraz, but he will have to deal with a home player in the Second Round. Camilo Ugo Carabelli has won a Challenger title on the clay and is very much at home on the red dirt, while he has come through the Qualifiers and won a First Round match in Buenos Aires.
This will mean Carabelli is well adjusted to the conditions and he will have to try and use that to his advantage against one of the best players on the Tour.
He has won two matches against top 100 Ranked opponents in this tournament, although the margins were slim, and it is a big ask for Camilo Ugo Carabelli to raise his level for long enough to beat someone like Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spaniard is likely going to put the Carabelli serve under pressure throughout this Second Round match and he should have the qualities to find the breaks of serve to cover this relatively wide handicap mark.
Sebastian Baez - 1.5 games v Luciano Darderi: His toughest win in Cordoba was against Sebastian Baez, but Luciano Darderi was able to work his way past the World Number 30 and eventually won the title.
He earned a Special Entry into the Buenos Aires event and Darderi was a crushing winner in the First Round to keep the positive momentum going.
That title win last week has pushed Luciano Darderi into a new career high World Ranking mark and the confidence is clearly not going to be an issue for him.
Sebastian Baez will be playing with revenge on his mind- he beat Darderi in Cordoba in 2023 before losing in the Quarter Final last week. The First Round win was comfortable to earn a rematch with the Italian and Sebastian Baez will feel a stronger start should put him in a position to turn the result around.
The serve let him down last week, but Sebastian Baez should be the slightly fresher player in this Second Round match and he is capable of better than what he showed in the loss. Putting that together here and perhaps being a little more clinical on the Break Points will turn the result around and he can get the better of Luciano Darderi, even at this confident stage of his career.
MY PICKS: Danielle Collins - 1.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Naomi Osaka - 1.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Carlos Alcaraz - 5.5 Games @ 1.75 Coral (2 Units)
Sebastian Baez - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Coral (2 Units)
Weekly Update: 3-5, - 4.52 Units (16 Units Staked, - 28.25% Yield)
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