In Dubai the spotlight doesn’t only fall on the big names. After Tsitsipas’s shock exit, the French had a say — and it was a two-act evening.
Arthur Rinderknech grit his teeth and hauled himself out of trouble. Valentin Royer, by contrast, ran into someone he couldn’t handle.
Rinderknech avenges Melbourne and turns Marozsan over
Arthur Rinderknech came for payback. At the Australian Open, Fabian Marozsan had dumped him in round one. This time the court told a different story.
The Hungarian started sharper — he took the first set 6-3. Rinderknech looked for rhythm, felt his way in. He didn’t panic. He stretched the rallies, targeted the backhand, found his serve.
He grabbed the second 6-3, closed it out 6-4 in the third. 1h52 of hard graft. A win that soothes after three straight losses and pulls their head-to-head level at 2-2.
Next hurdle: Jack Draper. A proper test for a place in the quarters.
Rublev too solid for Royer
Valentin Royer hoped to repeat his Hangzhou upset over Andrey Rublev from last year. Rublev had other ideas.
The Russian smothered the match with intensity. He carved out 16 break-point chances and kept the pressure on every return game. Final score: 6-3, 6-4 in 1h29.
Top seed held firm.
Winner here in 2022 and runner-up in 2023, Rublev knows the Emirati courts inside out. He meets another former champion, Ugo Humbert, in the round of 16. Their head-to-head tilts Rublev’s way, 3-2, though they last met in Shanghai in 2023.
Two paths, a tournament heating up
Rinderknech walks on, feeling he corrected a past mistake. Royer leaves with lessons after testing himself against a top-20 player.
In Dubai the draws are tightening, the match-ups are getting weight. The French, between revenge and schooling, are still very much part of the story as the event edges up a gear.
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