Ugo Humbert vs Pavel Kotov Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Qatar Open

Prediction published on 19/02/2024, 14:16  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 21/02/2024 at 02:25 in Tennis Predictions

Pavel Kotov takes on third seed Ugo Humbert in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. The winner of this match will go into the last eight and face unseeded opposition. Potential opponents include Zhizhen Zhang who he beat this year in the Australian Open.This is an outdoor hard court tournament and Humbert will be out to win his second event of the year. The Frenchman won the title in Marseille earlier this month but then lost to Emiil Ruusuvouri in the first round in Rotterdam last week. He's 18th in the world rankings and that's a career high. Humbert is 15th in the ATP Live Race with seven wins out of nine this year. 

To make it into the quarter finals, Kotov must beat Humbert for the first time in his career. There's been one previous meeting and that was in St Petersburg four years ago with Humbert winning in three sets. Kotov beat Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets to reach the second round (last 16) in Doha. He's 65th in the world but up a place in the live list, only three places below his career high. This is only his third tournament of the new year but he did get to the last eight in Hong Kong. Only the second round was reached in the Australian Open. Humbert will be out to get back on track after his early loss in Rotterdam and we tip him to beat Kotov.