Top-30 rivals Jiri Lehecka and Alexei Popyrin square off in the first round of the Rotterdam Open.
The pair’s only previous clash was at last year’s Miami Masters, with Popyrin claiming a 6-4 6-4 result.
World No.24 Lehecka has enjoyed a strong start to 2025, winning the Brisbane International – his second ATP title – and cruising into the fourth round of the Australian Open before being halted by Novak Djokovic.
Popyrin, ranked 26th, is yet to produce the form that took him to Canadian Masters glory last year so far this season. He went down heavily to Matteo Arnaldi in his opening assignment in Brisbane and lost to Corentin Moutet in the first round of the Australian Open.
Lehecka was a semi-finalist in Rotterdam as a qualifier in 2022 and excels on indoor hard courts. Tempting as he is as a $3.10 outsider, it’s hard to make a case for Popyrin given their contrasting 2025 formlines.
World No.8 Alex de Minaur returns to action for the first time since his Australian Open quarter-final run, taking on Belgian veteran David Goffin at the Rotterdam Open
De Minaur has crafted a 5-0 record against Goffin, dropping just one set in their matches and most recently winning 6-3 6-1 at this event in 2024.
The Australian was eventually the runner-up, losing to Jannik Sinner in the final after beating Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov. Goffin made the final in Rotterdam back in 2017.
It’s been another bright start to the season for de Minaur, shining at the United Cup and powering to his fourth straight grand slam quarter-final in Melbourne before running into immovable object Sinner.
Former top-10 star Goffin, now ranked 56th, is 0-4 in 2025. He was swamped by Aussies Aleksandar Vukic and Rinky Hijikata in Brisbane and Adelaide, respectively, then lost to Benjamin Bonzi in straight sets at the Australian Open.
The 34-year-old looked better in a three-set loss to Aleksandar Kovacevic in Montpellier last week, but he’d need to improve considerably again to get close to ‘Demon’.
Injury-hampered grand slam winners Marketa Vondrousova and Emma Raducanu have had mixed starts to 2025 ahead of this Abu Dhabi first-round clash.
The head-to-head is one-all: Raducanu prevailed at Wimbledon in 2021 and Vondrousova breezed to a Billie Jean King Cup victory in 2022.
Vondrousova has slipped to No.39 in the rankings just 18 months after her Wimbledon triumph and surge to sixth. She returned from a long layoff at the Adelaide International – beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova then retiring against Diana Shnaider – but pulled out of the Australian Open.
After withdrawing from the Auckland Open, world No.56 Raducanu was in good touch at the Australian Open in wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova. But she could take just one game off a rampaging Iga Swiatek in the third round.
The Brit was upset 5-7 7-5 7-5 by Cristina Bucsa in the first round in Singapore last week. Nevertheless, former US Open champ Raducanu seems more capable at present of getting through a full match in what otherwise shapes as an even contest.
High-profile duo Ons Jabeur and Jelena Ostapenko lock horns for the sixth time at the Abu Dhabi Open.
Jabeur has edged 3-2 ahead in this rivalry after last year’s Madrid Masters victory. They have met only once on hard courts, at the 2020 Ostrava Open with Jabeur winning in straight sets.
Jabeur, the runner-up in three grand slams in 2022-23 and a world No.2, has slipped to 33rd after a rough run of injuries.
Returning for her first matches since the Canadian Masters, the Tunisian made a strong run to the Brisbane International quarter-finals and beat Danielle Collins in Adelaide. She defeated Anhelina Kalinina and Camila Osorio at the Australian Open before losing to Emma Navarro in three sets.
Ostapenko has also endured a rankings slide, to No.35, after an uncharacteristically poor Australian swing.
The former French Open champ lost to Marie Bouzkova in Brisbane, Madison Keys in Adelaide (after chalking up her only win of 2025 against Magdalena Frech) and Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open.
Ostapenko’s power game causes headaches for any opponent, but her accuracy and consistency has been off this year. The crafty Jabeur has shown some really good signs in her comeback and is the clear pick in this one.