DUBAI: Andrey Rublev is pursuing his quest to become the first player since Roger Federer in 2015 to claim back-to-back Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship titles after marching to this year’s final.
Rublev stormed into the ATP 500 final at this week’s DDF championship, edging out childhood friend and No. 7 seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets in front of a capacity crowd at DDF Tennis Stadium.
It took the defending champion and World No. 6 a tiebreak to clinch the match 6-3, 7-6 (9) and continue his pursuit to clinch back-to-back titles.
Zverev’s hopes of reaching a first final since suffering serious injury at Roland Garros last June were quashed on Friday.
“I was thinking it was going to be a third set, and maybe that helped me,” said Rublev. “It was a super intense tiebreak. We are really good friends; we’ve known each other since we were 10 or 11 years-old in the juniors. He’s like an older brother to me, and he’s beaten me in our previous matches, so I knew I had nothing to lose.”
In a seesaw opening game that clocked in at just under 20 minutes, Rublev broke Zverev’s serve at the sixth attempt. He then repeated the feat twice more in four Zverev service games in the opening set, making light work of the German’s 200 kph-plus missiles.
Conversely, the second set was deadlocked on serve until the tiebreak, when a relaxed Rublev converted a fifth match point to seal his first ATP Tour win over Zverev, a player who sits 10 places beneath him in the world rankings.
Commenting over qualifying for his second consecutive DDF final, Rublev said: “It’s crazy, I have no words for the spectators and supporters here.”
In the first of the doubles semifinals, third seeds Lloyd Glasspool of the UK and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara downed Croatian duo Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 6-4, 6-2 in under and hour on Center Court.
Glasspool and Heliovaara are chasing their fourth ATP Tour title, and second tournament win of the year after triumphing in January’s Adelaide International 1. They will face either Maxime Cressy of the US and France’s Fabrice Martin, or Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen — the all-Belgian surprise package who have surged through the tournament after being promoted to the opening round as lucky losers.
Defending champion Rublev marches into DDF tennis championship final
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Defending champion Rublev marches into DDF tennis championship final
- ‘I was thinking it was going to be a third set, and maybe that helped me,’ said Rublev
- Third seeds Glasspool and Heliovaara win over top seeds Mektic and Pavic to reach doubles final
Sabalenka returns to Australian Open primed for another title tilt
- “Honestly, there’s no difference,” Sabalenka said of her mindset heading into Melbourne Park no longer in possession of the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup
BENGALURU: World number one Aryna Sabalenka enters the Australian Open in her familiar role as the hot favorite but unlike in the past two years the powerful Belarusian arrives without a title to defend or the momentum of a winning run in Melbourne.
The twice champion’s 20-match winning streak at the season’s opening major was snapped in the title clash 12 months ago when American outsider Madison Keys denied her a successful defense and a rare three-peat last achieved by Martina Hingis in 1999.
Sabalenka shrugged off that disappointment as well as losing in the French Open final and Wimbledon semifinals to secure her fourth Grand Slam crown at the US Open, leaving her primed for another title tilt on the blue hardcourts Down Under.
“Honestly, there’s no difference,” Sabalenka said of her mindset heading into Melbourne Park no longer in possession of the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
“Every time, it doesn’t matter what tournament it is ... if I’m the defending champion or if I lost in the first round last year, the goal is always the same — to bring my best tennis and improve my game.
“That’s how I take it. I’m always just focusing on myself, on developing my game, and making sure I’m 100 percent there. That’s my goal and focus every time.”
Sabalenka’s serve infamously hampered her in Australia four years ago but her refined delivery has become a crucial weapon, while her variations with drop shots and sharper tactical nous have turned her into a formidable force.
She won a tour-leading four trophies last season and made nine finals, underlining her consistency at the highest level, with a shock loss to Elena Rybakina in last year’s WTA Finals title clash bringing her campaign to an abrupt end.
That setback has only sharpened her resolve and she now returns to Melbourne looking to reach her fourth consecutive Australian Open final.
The 27-year-old will also bid to reach a seventh straight hardcourt Grand Slam final to match Hingis and Steffi Graf in the professional era that began in 1968.
“I’m always super motivated when I come to Australia,” said Sabalenka, who kicked off her season by retaining her title at the Brisbane International without giving up a set.
“I love playing here and I want to stay here as long as possible. Of course remembering last year’s (Australian Open) final, I want to do a little bit better than I did.”
