The 187th-ranked Marin Cilic faces the world number 27 Alexei Popyrin in the second round of the 2025 ATP Dubai Open which will be played on Wednesday, February 26. Get all the Marin Cilic v Alexei Popyrin predictions, betting tips and odds for this encounter in the section below.
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Marin Cilic v Alexei Popyrin Head to Head
Cilic and Popyrin have faced off twice in the past and both have won once apiece. Popyrin won in Singapore in 2021 and Cilic made it 1-1 in Miami in 2022.
Cilic Shocker for de Minaur
Marin Cilic had been struggling with his fitness but he came back to competitive tennis last week when he featured in the Qatar Open.
He was drawn to play Carlos Alcaraz in the first round and while he lost – expectedly so – there were traces of a fight there, which is what we thought might happen when he took to court for his opener here against the in-form Alex de Minaur.
As it turned out, the 2024 Hangzhou Open title winner not only tested de Minaur, he also went on to win the encounter.
Cilic clinched a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over de Minaur in a match that lasted two hours and 18 minutes, thereby registering his first victory of the second.
And if he can maintain these levels of fitness, it wouldn’t come as a big surprise to see him get back to some of his pre-injury best.
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Popyrin’s First Win of the Season Comes Here
Alexei Popyrin had won a Masters 1000 tournament last year. This year, he has begun the season playing like he is no longer a top 30 player.
His issues started at the Brisbane International where he was dumped out in the first round by Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets. A struggling Corentin Moutet then defeated him at the Australian Open before Jiri Lehecka and Jack Draper ended his campaigns in Rotterdam and Doha.
He was on four losses for the season as a result without a win and that made this opener against Hady Habib very important for the world number 27.
Popyrin lived up to those 2/5 odds as he used up a mere 67 minutes to complete an easy 6-2, 6-4 win over Habib.
He now faces a resurgent Cilic in round two and we could end up watching a solid battle when the two clash.
Cilic v Popyrin Predictions
Given Cilic’s serving form, it might become difficult for Popyrin to break him regularly enough and we could see a tie-breaker or two. Also, at 11/8, the odds for a Cilic win look quite tempting.
Cilic v Popyrin Tips
- Over 21.5 games in the match: 5/6
- Cilic to win: 11/8
