The 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships have come and gone, and we’ve learned a lot from the tournament. One wouldn’t say the outcome was surprising; the defending champion had an impeccable run to the final, which was only cut short by the agile Daniil Medvedev.
Next year, punters will look to cash in on the tournament to beat bookmakers’ odds and earn outrageous sums without necessarily swinging a racket on the court. Bet999 offers one of the best tennis odds in the market. However, it’s impossible to bet correctly without sufficient information about participants in the competition.
In this concise article, we’ll list the top players to look out for at the next iteration of the Dubai Tennis Championships next year. Since the tournament is still a long time away, you shouldn’t expect everyone on this list to show up next year, but here’s the closest you can get to predictions with the competition being that far away and boost your chances:
Male Players to Look Out For
There’s a men’s and women’s version of the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship. Since you can get great odds on either, this article will analyze both. Here are the male tennis jocks to look out for at the Dubai Open next year.
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic got ousted in the semi-finals of the recently concluded Dubai Tennis Championships by the eventual winner, Daniil Medvedev. With the Serbian known for his never say die approach to ATP tournaments, a Novak Djokovic win at the Dubai Tennis Championships would be one of the least surprising events in sporting history.
Novak remains number one on the ATP rankings, making him the theoretical favorite to lift the trophy when the tournament opens next year. As someone who first ranked No. 1 in 2011, he’s no novice; he has the requisite experience to ace past even the most challenging opponents at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
However, a couple of factors may work against Novak Djokovic winning next year, with his opposition to the vaccination being one of the most crucial. He’d likely be unprepared for the Dubai Open next year if he keeps up with missing tournaments due to his vaccination status.
Before you think that’s a non-issue, you should note that he has already pulled out of the Indian Wells Masters for the same reason, and that’s likely not the last event he’ll boycott due to his anti-vaccine activism.
If it ends as a non-issue, we could see Novak continue his quest to become one of the best tennis players in history. With the current state of things, however, it’s simply impossible to turn a blind eye to the numerous controversies hanging around the maestro’s neck.
Andrey Rublev
Andrey Rublev, the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships winner, was on course to win the tournament again in 2023 before his title defense was cut short by his compatriot, Daniil Medvedev, at the competition’s final game. Next year, we expect him to take this year’s final match loss outrage to the tournament, making him a contender for the trophy.
On the down side, Andrey Rublev’s 2023 performance is rapidly deteriorating; he is dropping competitions and making mistakes that cost him games. He did get back to winning ways at Dubai this year, but his inability to defend his title dampened his soaring morale.
Despite the minor setback, the tennis maestro isn’t taking any breaks, as he’s already in the Indian Wells Masters with his eyes on his trophy. His excellent run in the Dubai Tennis Championships makes him a favorite to win the competition, and he’s eyeing something even more than that.
If Andrey continues with this impeccable form throughout this year, nothing will stop him from clinching the Dubai Duty Free Tournament next year. Besides, he’s younger and getting increasingly agile; oldies like Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic shouldn’t pose problems for his title race if they’ll be participating in the tournament in the first place.
Daniil Medvedev
As the tournament’s defending champion, Daniil Medvedev is objectively one of the favorites to lift the trophy next year, but there’s enough reason to believe he probably won’t. For one, multiple-time world champion Novak Djokovic still has no plans to retire. Also, Andy Murray might make yet another comeback next year, which is still unconfirmed.
Despite those drawbacks, Daniil Medvedev will likely go far in the tournament and will probably win, as more factors are in his favor than against him.
For one, he’ll look to defend his title next year, a hint that he’ll be participating in the competition again in the absence of injuries. He also remains a youthful player, as the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are getting slower as they age.
Also, Andy Murray’s retirement is not off the books before next year’s Dubai Tennis Championships, and he’s not the only tennis heavyweight who could retire. Having some big challengers out of the competition before February will only strengthen a possible Daniil title defense.
As long as Medvedev keeps up with his boring but mischievously smart tennis style, he’ll always remain a contender for the Dubai Tennis Championships. However, a title defense isn’t the simplest thing in Dubai, so it’s hard to go all in about him being the favorite to win next year’s trophy.
Hubert Hurkacz
Hubert Hurkacz is one of the few Dubai Tennis Championships participants who doesn’t get as much attention as he deserves. His loss to the top-ranked favorite, Novak Djokovic, in a semi-final match marked his departure from the keenly contested competition in the United Arab Emirates.
However, punters don’t acknowledge that the 25-year-old has six ATP Tour singles titles, including the 2021 Miami Open Masters 1000 title, making him the first Polish player to achieve that. Hubert pulling the same surprise at the Dubai Tennis Championships next year to clinch the trophy isn’t an outrageous prediction.
If you think that’s not a likely scenario, his recent run of form should be enough to change your mind. For one, he won the Open 13, beating some competitive names on his way to the final. While he still has plenty of development to do before reaching the level of a Dubai Open winner, he’s not a pushover by any definition.
Andy Murray
Andy Murray is one of the oldies with fewer chances of showing up at the next installment of the Dubai Open with every passing year. Turning 36 later this year, Andy Murray has already shown signs of slowing down, and he’ll only continue to deteriorate in form until he finally retires.
However, it would be unwise to write him off completely, as he remains one of the most experienced players in the game. Thanks to his experience winning grand slams and other tournaments, Andy has pulled some surprises very recently, and he might be saving a rude shock for us come 2024.
Again, that’s contingent on whether or not he decides to retire before the Dubai Tennis Championships in February. His infamous “one big injury away from retirement” interview is still fresh on everyone’s minds, and there are still a lot of tournaments to play in 2023.
If you’re rooting for Andy Murray to come out on top in next year’s version, you must note that injury is his most powerful opponent, not Andrey Rublev or Novak Djokovic. Given that he pulled out of the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships due to a hip injury, we’ll be watching to see if next year brings another story.
Borna Coric
Borna Coric isn’t among the highest-ranked tennis jocks, but he’s famous for pulling surprises against the biggest names in the game. Just last year, the Croatian international became the lowest-ranked champion to have won the Cincinnati Masters in Masters 1000 history. It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if he could go from being ranked 20th to winning the Dubai Tennis Championships next year.
Borna Coric has been unable to break through into the tournament, exiting at the quarterfinals in the recently concluded version of the event. However, it’s worth noting that he lost only to Medvedev, the then-defending champion, who would go on to qualify for the final.
Next year, Borna will hope to get an easier path to the final while avoiding injuries and other hindrances that may prevent him from participating in the tournament. If he can pull that off successfully, it wouldn’t be too speculative to bet on him winning the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2023.
Also, Borna Coric is pretty young, unlike established jocks like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Even if he doesn’t clinch the trophy next year, he still has several years left in his career to make a name for himself.
Female Players to Look Out For
The men’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships do get all the hype, but the women’s version of the competition is where the sweetest odds lie. These female players are our best attempt at predicting who could emerge as the winner as the tournament kicks off in the United Arab Emirates early next year.
Iga Swiatek
Despite being only 21, Polish international Iga Swiatek has made a name for herself in female professional tennis, shooting herself to the top position in the WTA ranking after a winning streak of tournaments, including the Qatar Open.
She was the runner-up in the just-concluded Dubai Duty Free World Championships tournament after losing to Barbora narrowly in the final. Since she’s ahead, she’d want to assert her superiority as both players return for the next installment of the Dubai Open next year.
Iga’s credentials include being a three-time singles champion, the first Polish player to win any. She has also won the French Open and US Open, bringing her WTA Tour-level winning tally to 12, and she’s only 21. Iga Swiatek is undoubtedly one of the players to watch out for during the Women’s Dubai Tennis next year.
Barbora Krejcikova
Barbora Krejcikova might not be one of the top ten-ranked female professional tennis players, but she has demonstrated the ability to beat high-ranking players. She’s the tournament’s defending champion, defeating the WTA world’s No. 1 player, Iga Swiatek, during the final match in Dubai.
She didn’t have the most impeccable form before the win, getting ousted at the Qatar Open during the Round of 32 and the Abu Dhabi Open during the Round of 16. However, she overcame Iga Swiatek’s youthful power and talent due to her experience on the court.
While Barbora’s title defense will be challenging, calling it impossible would be narrow-minded. With six career titles and a career-winning record of around 65%, she only needs a healthy dose of luck to retain her Dubai Open title early next year.
Jessica Pegula
Jessica would hope to gain a few ranking points to usurp Iga and Aryna’s dominance over female tennis next year at the Dubai Open. Born in 1994, the 29-year-old has all it takes to emerge as the champion next year in Dubai, from physical abilities to smarts and experience.
She has also displayed excellent form this year, coming in second after losing to Iga Swiatek, the highest-ranked female in professional tennis. She only needs to step up her game a notch to match the seemingly unbeatable Barbora and Iga duo.
With two single titles backing her on her route to Dubai in 2023, backers can only expect her to pull surprises, snatching the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title from the defending champion. If either Iga or Barbora drops out before the tournament or sustains an injury, her chances of winning will go from improbable to almost certain.
Conclusion
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships are one of the most challenging competitions we see annually, with the biggest names like Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic being consistent challengers. Unlike stimulated sports, this is the real deal. This year saw a few surprises, as 16th-ranked Barbora defeated Iga in the final to clinch the women’s title.
In this article, we drop our predictions for the next edition of the Dubai Open, which will take place early next year. If everyone who participated this year returned next year, here are the players you should monitor throughout the tournament. The article has different sections for the male and female versions of the game.
