Sabalenka, Swiatek and Gauff try to restore order, Alcaraz and Djokovic can't avoid each other, and Fonseca returns home

Call it déjà vu week. Or run it back week. Or take-two week.

You get the point. From the arena to the players to the draw to the ranking points, the WTA 1000 event in Dubai looks a lot like the WTA 1000 event we just watched in Doha. The same is largely true on the men’s side, where this week’s tournament in Rio bears more than a passing resemblance to last week’s tournament in Buenos Aires.

Not that this is a bad thing. Both have good fields, especially Dubai. And not everything feels the same. The men—including Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic—have joined the party on the Arab peninsula, with their own 500 in Doha.

Here are three things to watch as we move into the second half of February.

The empire tries to strike back in Dubai

Last week in Doha, four of the top eight seeds—Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Zheng Qinwen, and Emma Navarro—were gone after round two. The only Top 10 player who made the semifinals, Iga Swiatek, was bulldozed out of the tournament by Jelena Ostapenko.

Is it time for order to be restored? That’s not how the Doha-Dubai has worked in recent years. Since 2022, Swiatek, the world No. 1, has dominated Doha, and a surprise winner—Jasmine Paolini, Barbora Krejcikova, Ostapenko—has followed in Dubai.

In a field this strong—10 of the WTA’s Top 12 are in action—it’s easy to imagine that this week will bring more surprises. It’s even easier to imagine when you see the top seeds’ potential opening-round opponents. For Sabalenka, it could be the woman who beat her last week, Ekaterina Alexandrova. For Gauff, it may be Doha champ Amanda Anisimova. For Rybakina, it may be Doha’s runner-up, Ostapenko.

That means there could be an opportunity for one of the high seeds, if she can find her game in time, to win a big title and come out of the Arabian swing with some momentum heading into next month’s Sunshine Double.

Not in action: Madison Keys

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are in the same neighborhood again

Like most of us, the draw gods seem to enjoy watching Alcaraz and Djokovic play each other. They put the Spaniard and the Serb in the same quarter at the Australian Open; now they’re in the same half in Dubai. If you’re wondering how, it’s because Alex de Minaur has passed Djokovic in the rankings, and is the No. 2 need here. It’s more than a bit odd to see his name at the bottom of the bracket, when you know Djokovic is elsewhere.

The same goes for Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, all of whom are seeded below de Minaur here. Medvedev, who hasn’t won a title since May 2023, is mired in a slump that can only come as a surprise from a guy who has been so steady for so long. He’ll try to turn things around again countryman Karen Khachanov in his opener.

What are the chances we see Alcaraz-Djokovic II in 2025 later this week? Alcaraz starts against Marin Cilic, and could play Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16. Djokovic, who is recovering from a groin injury that forced him out of Australia, will open with Matteo Berrettini.

Read more: Verdasco to retire from tennis after playing doubles with Djokovic in Doha

Joao-mania comes to Rio

Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Musetti will be the top seeds at the 500 in Rio this week. But the man—young man—of the hour will be 18-year-old Joao Fonseca, who was born and lives in the city.

Brazil goes mad for its star players, but it hasn’t had one since Gustavo Kuerten two decades ago. The ATP has tried to build up the Golden Swing by adding a 500 in Rio, and that move may begin to pay off with the rise of Fonseca. He held up well this past week in Buenos Aires, making the final despite having to face a series of Argentine opponents and their partisan fans. He’ll surely get a more enthusiastic welcome at home.

Fonseca will start against 58th-ranked Alexandre Muller of France. Zverev will open with Yunchaokete Bu of China. And Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, finalist in Delray Beach on Sunday, will fly south and rejoin his fellow Golden Swingers this week.