Tennis
2026-02-27 - Andrey Rublev vs Tallon Griekspoor
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : ATP 500 Dubai Semi Final
Friday 27th February 2026 - Scheduled 7pm
3pm (British Time)
Preview
There was very little form put together by Tallon Griekspoor prior to the tournament beginning in Dubai and so his appearance in the Semi Final is something of a surprise.
However, the Dutchman will point to some strong numbers in the three wins this week, which have included a couple of wins over opponents Ranked Number 10 and Number 13.
Tallon Griekspoor has held 97% of his service games played at the tournament and he has only allowed four Break Points in three matches- he will need to continue producing at that level if he is going to earn an upset and reach the Final.
The World Number 25 has long been someone who has struggled on the return, but he can build scoreboard pressure behind strong serving. At the tournament, Tallon Griekspoor has only broken in 19% of return games played and has won 36% of return points played and now has to face Andrey Rublev, who has opened 2026 in really strong form on the hard courts.
A 10-3 start to the year will have given Andrey Rublev a lot of confidence ahead of the back to back Masters events which are going to be played over the next month, but he will want to reach a Final.
Last week a close loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Semi Final in Doha would have hurt, but Andrey Rublev has continued operating at a high level.
Much like his opponent, Andrey Rublev has held 97% of his service games played, although he has been challenged a little bit more with eight Break Points faced.
There is a clear edge in favour of Rublev when it comes to the return of serve, while he has beaten Tallon Griekspoor in all three previous matches on the Tour.
It has been almost two years since they faced one another and Andrey Rublev was a top ten Ranked player in all three previous matches, while the closest contest was on the Doha hard courts in 2023.
In that match, Andrey Rublev was the slightly stronger server and that may be the case in this Semi Final, although like the first, it could be competitive at least for a while. This may be another match in which at least one Tie-Breaker is needed to separate two players who have been using the conditions very effectively and you have to believe the serving power is going to put both in a position to roll through some games without feeling much pressure.
This may end up focusing the two to get to at least one Tie-Breaker and that could be pivotal to the outcome of the contest.
Prediction
The second Semi Final also features two players serving at a high level and that could lead to at least one Tie-Breaker.
The Pick :
Andrey Rublev 2-0 Tallon Griekspoor
