The Russian Daniil Medvedev put an end to the impeccable start to the season of the world number one, the Serbian Novak Djokovic, by winning the semifinal of the Dubai tournament 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final that they will play against his compatriot Andrey Rublev .
Djokovic had fifteen wins and no losses so far this year. Until the appointment before Medvedev. Winner of the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open and the Adelaide tournament, the player from Belgrade who this week has emerged as the player, male or female, with the longest time at number one in the world ranking, 378 weeks suffered its first setback of 2023.
The Balkan, who had won four of the five times they had faced the Moscow player, including this season, in the Adelaide tournament, was always against the current and, at times, showed a certain despair on the track.
Medvedev is on a roll. He added his thirteenth consecutive victory in the semifinal in Dubai, which has recently given him victories in Doha and Rotterdam, the first of this campaign.
The Muscovite, seventh player in the world, stood at 5-2 in the first set, and although Djokovic, winner of twenty-two Grand Slams, reacted, he managed to close the set. In addition, Medvedev extended his level by breaking, at the beginning, in the second set. It was placed with a 2-0 that was inaccessible for the world number one who was left without reaching the final to achieve, for the sixth time, the title in Dubai.
Medvedev, who took an hour and a half to close his second victory against Djokovic, will play the thirtieth final of his career in Dubai in search of his eighteenth title. He will do it against his compatriot Andrey Rublev
Rublev, second favorite and current champion, beat German Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(9) and reached the first final in 2023, which he won last year.
Rublev took an hour and 58 minutes to bring down Zverev with whom he had lost in four of the five matches that the two had previously played.
The Muscovite tennis player won the first set with ease and controlled the German's reaction in the second, which came to have a set point to extend the semifinal to a third set.
Rublev avoided the improvement of his rival and closed the victory to reach the eighteenth final of his career in search of the thirteenth trophy in his career, the first in this course.
