We continue our betting on the 2026 Qatar Open in Doha on Tuesday, February 17 with two interesting first round matches. Here are our previews and picks for Ugo Humbert vs Fabian Marozsan and Andrey Rublev vs Jesper De Jong.
Humbert vs Marozsan
Time: 6:30 PM local (Grandstand 1) Surface: Outdoor hard Head-to-Head: 2-1 Humbert (first meeting on hard court)
Ugo Humbert arrives in Doha with good momentum. The Frenchman (ranked No. 36) is having a strong early 2026, reaching the final in Adelaide last month before making the semifinals in Rotterdam last week. His 2026 record stands at 8-5 overall, 4-3 on hard. He’s competing in Doha for only the second time, reaching the quarterfinals here two years ago.
Fabian Marozsan (ranked No. 48) is in fine form but has had a slightly more inconsistent campaign. The Hungarian reached the third round of the Australian Open, going two sets up against Medvedev before losing in five… He comes in having lost his last two matches and hasn’t played since late January.
Predictions
Both players are aggressive and wants to to end the rallies, but I would say Humbert is the better player on hard courts. While their H2H is tight (2-1), those previous meetings came on clay and indoor hard – this is their first meeting on outdoor hard, which suits Humbert’s game more. His form is a bit sharper coming off Rotterdam, and he has the slightly better serve which might be the deciding factor here.
Our Pick: Humbert to grind out the win and progress to the 2nd round.
Match 2: Rublev vs De Jong
Time: 10:00 PM local (Center Court) Surface: Outdoor hard Head-to-Head: 1-0 Rublev (only meeting: Barcelona 2025, clay, 6-1 6-3)
Andrey Rublev (ranked No. 14) is the defending champion in Doha, having lifted the title last year by beating Jack Draper in the final. He also won here in 2020 and was runner-up in 2018 – this tournament is clearly working for him. His 2026 season has been modest but not alarming: he reached the semifinals in Hong Kong before losing to Musetti, then fell in the third round of the Australian Open to Cerundolo in straight sets. His record stands at 4-2 overall in 2026, all on hard. He has 500 points to defend here, making this tournament crucial for his ranking. More on Rublev’s racquet.
Jesper De Jong (ranked No. 86) is having a difficult start to 2026 – his record sits at 1-5, with no wins on hard courts this season. His last match was a first-round loss in Rotterdam to Karen Khachanov, where he won the first set before fading in three. He has never competed in Doha before, and his only meeting against Rublev ended in a lopsided 6-1 6-3 defeat on clay in Barcelona last year.
Predictions
Rublev knows this tournament inside out, has fresh motivation from his title defense, and faces an opponent who is winless on hard courts this season. De Jong has shown flashes of what he can do but lacks the overall game to compete with a focused Rublev on outdoor hard.
Our Pick: Rublev to win in straight sets.
