Daniel Evans vs Fabio Fognini
25th February 0700hrs
Tennis – Dubai – ATP Tour
Pick Draw
Bookmaker Bet365
Odds: 4/6 odds taken 21:06 GMT, Sunday, 23rd February
This will be the first-ever meeting between Britain’s Dan Evans and Italy’s Fabio Fognini. The Italian is the fourth seed at this tournament, but he is going as the underdog for this opening match. This is the third quarter of action in Dubai.
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Can Evans win opener in Dubai?
Britain’s Dan Evans had a couple of good wins in his last tournament. That was at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. He opened with a straight-sets win over Philipp Kohlschreiber.
But it was his victory over NextGen star Karen Khachanov in the round of sixteen that stood out.
Evans had dropped the first set in that match against the young Russian but fought back superbly to get the win.
He was knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual winner Gael Monfils. After narrowly dropping the opening set on a tie-break, the resistance of Evans went.
Dan Evans, currently ranked 37th in the world, has only made one previous appearance in Dubai. That was in 2017 when he lost in the second round to Gael Monfils.
But his year to date record is W8 L4 and that has been far better than what his opponent Fognini has produced this year.
Three times this year Dan Evans has beaten a player from inside the top twenty. So he is more than capable of pulling the win out of his hat.
Five of his eight wins this season have been settled in straight sets, so it may be worth leaning towards that option for this Dubai opener.
Fognini to face pressure from Evans
Notably, at the recent ATP Rotterdam tournament, Italy’s Fabio Fognini faced Karen Khachanov in the opening round. He lost 3-6, 3-6 in that match before Khachanov went on to lose to Evans in the tournament.
So is that a good indicator for the outcome of this match?
Fognini’s overall match to date record is W4 L5 only across all tournaments. He has only entered two singles tournaments this season.
He lost his opening match at both of them. Fognini did have a pretty decent Australian Open account as he reached the round of sixteen.
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Three of his four matches at the Grand Slam, however, went to at least four sets. So the 32-year-old has had his struggles, especially on the defensive side of his game.
This will be the first time in his career that he has entered the ATP Dubai. He has won 82% of his service games this season.
Daniel Evans vs Fabio Fognini Betting Advice
Dan Evans looked quite confident in his Rotterdam campaign. The way that he fought back from having dropped a set against Khachanov was highly impressive. It’s been a decent start to the new year by the Brit and he can take this match win.
Key Facts – Daniel Evans vs Fabio Fognini Betting Tip
- Daniel Evans will meet Fognini for the first time
- Daniel Evans is ranked 37th in the ATP rankings
- Fabio Fognini is ranked 11th in the world
Fognini has taken a bow in his opening match of both of his two singles tournaments this season. So there has been some vulnerability there. He hasn’t done a bad job on his service games, but the defence may not be there to hold off Evans.
The best betting odds for Daniel Evans vs Fabio Fognini
Daniel Evans to win: 4/6 at Bet365
Fabio Fognini: 11/10 at Bet365
