Tennis
2026-02-18 - Mirra Andreeva vs Jaqueline Cristian
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : WTA 1000 Dubai Second Round
Wednesday 18th February 2025 - Scheduled 1pm
9am (British Time)
Preview
Another player who earned a walkover in the Second Round in Dubai is the defending Champion Mirra Andreeva.
She had a dominant run here in 2025 and Mirra Andreeva just reached the Doha Third Round, but there will be some pressure to get as close as possible to defend the title and the Ranking Points. That may not be a big issue for older players, but Mirra Andreeva is still developing and will not want to slip out of the top eight of the World Rankings ahead of the Grand Slams to be played.
The lack of competitive tennis this week may be a potential problem, but Andreeva should be happy enough with the conditions having had so much success at the tournament already.
There has been a lot to like about the level being produced early in 2026 and Mirra Andreeva has a 20-6 record on the hard courts when facing players Ranked outside of the top 20 over the last twelve months. She has won over 49% of the return points played in those matches and the World Number 7 will certainly feel she can put this opponent under some extreme pressure.
Jaqueline Cristian won the first set of her Second Round match without dropping a game before her opponent decided to call it a day.
That means the World Number 39 has played three completed sets in Dubai on her way to the Third Round and Cristian has only dropped two games. However, both of those matches have been against opponents Ranked Number 69 or lower and this is a considerable step upwards for a player who had a 5-5 record on the hard courts before the tournament in Dubai begun.
The year started with a run to the Quarter Final in Adelaide, but it has been tough for Jaqueline Cristian since then with early losses becoming the norm before this event.
Over the last twelve months Jaqueline Cristian has played well on the hard courts, but she is just 1-8 when facing top 20 Ranked players on the surface. In those matches, Cristian has been put under significant pressure when serving, and she has struggled to really make a big impact on the return, which is going to be something that Mirra Andreeva looks to exploit in this Third Round match.
It should be noted that in those eight losses against top 20 Ranked opponents, Jaqueline Cristian would have won enough games to stay within this spread four times.
However that also means she has failed to cover in the other half of those defeats and Mirra Andreeva has covered this spread in seventeen of the twenty hard courts wins produced against players Ranked outside the top 20.
Prediction
The defending Champion is another player who has benefited from a Bye and a Walkover to reach the Third Round.
After a relatively early exit in Doha, Mirra Andreeva can make a strong start to the defence of the title won here last year.
The Pick :
Mirra Andreeva 2-0 Jaqueline Cristian
