Arthur Fils will make immediate changes following his success in Dubai when he faces Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday in Dubai. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev gets his week going against Jerry Shang.
(3) Daniil Medvedev vs. (PR) Jerry Shang
Medvedev and Shang will be facing each other for the second time in their careers and the second time in as many weeks when they meet again in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday. They recently met in Doha, where Medvedev won 6-4, 6-2.
Unfortunately for the 11th-ranked Russian player, he was unable to continue the momentum in 2026. He won his first eight matches – including the title in Brisbane – but was beaten by Learner Tien in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Medvedev is now 1-3 in his last four matches with further losses to Ugo Humbert (Rotterdam first round) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (Doha second round). However, there is no reason to think that Shang will turn the tables on what happened in Doha. The 21-year-old Chinese player is not in good shape and the conditions in both tournaments are for all intents and purposes the same.
Pick: Medvedev at 2
Arthur Fils vs. (8) Jiri Lehecka
Lehecka vs. Fils is also a repeat from Doha. They advanced to the quarterfinals last week, with the Fils winning 6-3, 6-3 en route to the title match. The overall head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of the Phils; he also won 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4 in the 2024 Davis Cup rubber before Lehecka won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Toronto Masters.
Rest, of course, may have contributed to this. Fils gets just two days off after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s Doha final; Lehecka has not played a game since last Thursday. The 24th-ranked Czech also has a history of playing well in the Middle East, so he should have a good chance of revenge on Tuesday.
Pick: Lehecka in 3
