That tournament is getting going early next week with the main draw released on Monday, but the likelihood is that the first Picks from that event will be made when the Third Round begins a week on Sunday.
Before that, one more selection will be made from the ATP Dubai Final and the outcome will decide whether this is a profitable week or one with a slight setback.
Stefanos Tsitsipas - 1.5 games v Felix Auger-Aliassime: Both of the players competing for the ATP 500 title in Dubai have been firm members of the top ten in the World Rankings, but who have just been through some leaner times and looking for a big boost in confidence and momentum.
A win for Stefanos Tsitsipas will push him back inside the top ten as soon as Monday and ahead of the Indian Wells Masters draw being made. He has come through some difficult moments this week, but Tsitsipas was very strong in his Semi Final win over Tallon Griekspoor.
This will give him confidence having needed to rally in wins over Matteo Berrettini and Karen Khachanov and the World Number 11 is playing pretty well overall in Dubai, which will also bolster the belief.
It is Felix Auger-Aliassime who has made his way through to the Final to face Stefanos Tsitsipas and the Canadian will end the tournament back inside the top 20 of the World Rankings.
In a tough tournament that brings in some of the best players on the Tour, Felix Auger-Aliassime was not Seeded at the start, but he has perhaps benefited from the top names falling all around him in the bottom half of the draw. This is backed up by the fact that he has not beaten anyone higher than World Number 38 so far this week, which makes Stefanos Tsitsipas the highest Ranked opponent by some distance, and even then Felix Auger-Aliassime has not had things all his own way.
Felix Auger-Aliassime has had to play every set possible in his four wins in Dubai and that has meant spending a lot more time on the court compared with his opponent in this Final.
This is most certainly a potential factor, while Stefanos Tsitsipas has won six of the last seven matches played between these two players on the Tour, albeit the last of those being in November 2023.
Both players are serving well, with Stefanos Tsitsipas having the edge, and that could be important in determining the outcome of the Final.
There hasn't been a lot between the players when they faced off with Tsitsipas having the slight edge on the serve over Felix Auger-Aliassime.
In a match of potentially fine margins, Stefanos Tsitsipas may just do enough to win the majority of the key points that the players will inevitably have to play against one another. He has perhaps not returned as well as Felix Auger-Aliassime in his run to the Final, but Tsitsipas will point out the tougher path he has had to tread to reach this Stage and that could be key in this big match.
MY PICK: Stefanos Tsitsipas - 1.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Weekly Update: 5-4, - 0.05 Units (9 Units Staked, - 1% Yield)
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