21 February 2022 | Tennis Australia

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Alex de Minaur will aim to continue his good form at the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where the No.1 Australian man takes on  Karen Khachanov in the first round.

De Minaur’s strong start to the 2022 season includes two top-40 wins at the ATP Cup, a career-best run to the fourth round of the Australian Open and a quarterfinal run in Rotterdam.

After briefly dropping outside the top-40 earlier this season, De Minaur is now on the cusp of a top-30 return.

De Minaur is joined in Dubai by countryman Chris O’Connell, who defeated Henri Laaksonen and Yuki Bhambri in qualifying to earn entry into the tournament’s main draw for the first time.

John Peers will compete in doubles alongside Filip Polosek, with the pair scheduled to take on wildcards Saketh Myeni and Ramkumar Ramanathan in the opening round.

Aussies in action – Dubai

RESULTS
Men’s qualifying singles, second round
Chris O’Connell (AUS) d Yuki Bhambri (IND) 6-3 6-4
[9] Jiri Vesely (CZE) d [1] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 6-2

COMING UP
Men’s singles, final round
Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Karen Khachanov (RUS)
[Q] Chris O’Connell (AUS) v [WC] Andy Murray (GBR)

Men’s doubles, first round
[3] John Peers (AUS)/Filip Polosek (SLO) v [WC] Saketh Myeni  (IND)/Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)

Doha, Qatar

Ajla Tomljanovic leads Aussies hopes at the prestigious WTA-1000 tournament in Doha.

She faces Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in the opening round.

The 28-year-old Australian is the lone Australian competing in the Qatar Total Energies Open singles draw, after Astra Sharma, Maddison Inglis and Ellen Perez exited in qualifying.

Perez is contesting the doubles tournament alongside American Desirae Krawzyk.

Aussies in action – Doha

COMING UP
Women’s singles, first round
 Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) v Daria Kasatkina (RUS)

Women’s doubles, first round
Ellen Perez (AUS)/Desirae Krawczyk (USA) v Oksana Kalashnikovia (GEO)/Maryna Zanevska

Acapulco, Mexico

John Millman is determined to build on some stunning form at the ATP-500 tournament in Acapulco, Mexico.

Millman last week progressed to a first semifinal in more than a year at Delray Beach, where victims included No.8 seed Maxime Cressy and No.3 Grigor Dimitrov. 

He also impressed in the semifinals against Reilly Opelka, pushing the No.2 seed to three sets over three hours.

The 32-year-old Queenslander faces Marcos Giron in his Acapulco first round – a rematch of their second-round contest in Delray Beach, which Millman won in straight sets.

Aussies in action – Acapulco

COMING UP
Men’s singles, first round
John Millman (AUS) v Marcos Giron (USA)

Guadalajara, Mexico

Daria Saville will fly the Aussie flag at the WTA 250 tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico.

But the 27-year-old Australian faces a tough first-round opponent in No.1 seed Emma Raducanu, who is also the reigning US Open champion.

Saville, formerly Gavrilova, is rebuilding her ranking after undergoing Achilles surgery early last year.

Aussies in action – Guadalajara

COMING UP
Woen’s singles, first round
Daria Saville (AUS) v [1] Emma Raducanu (GBR)