DUBAI: Daniil Medvedev is one victory away from repeating a title run for the first time in his career after he punched his ticket to the Dubai final with a 6-4, 6-2 success over top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday.
Medvedev, a former world number one, boasts 22 career titles but has bizarrely never won the same tournament twice.
The ex-US Open champion has a chance to change that when he takes on Dutch world number 25 Tallon Griekspoor in the final on Saturday in Dubai, where he lifted the trophy in 2023.
“If you give me some fast courts like they were before, maybe I can do something like this, but there aren’t many courts like this on the tour anymore,” said Medvedev, who is through to the 42nd final of his career.
“If I manage to put (on an) even better performance tomorrow, I have a chance to win,” he added.
Griekspoor shocked Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) in a match that included controversy.
After saving three break points to hold for 6-5 in the opening set, Griekspoor took an off-court medical timeout for what appeared to be a groin/hamstring injury.
Griekspoor returned several minutes later, broke Rublev’s serve and took the opening set.
The 29-year-old Dutchman was putting on a brilliant serving performance despite his mobility issues and he kept it up in the second set.
The contest turned into an ace-fest and the set fittingly went to a tiebreak.
Rublev squandered a 3-0 lead in the breaker and two set points from 6-4 up as Griekspoor once again found his best tennis.
“I have no idea how I pulled off this one,” said Griekspoor, who produced 19 aces to Rublev’s 20.
“I could barely walk from the end of the first set. I guess unlucky and lucky at the same time.
“And then I got very lucky in the tiebreak to win it in two sets. Because if this was going three, it was going to be an extremely hard story for me,” he added.
Griekspoor’s third consecutive top-20 win of the week earned him a spot in a sixth tour-level final — his second at the 500 level.
It is unclear how fit he will be for his final against Medvedev on Saturday though.
“I landed with a serve and I felt something in my hamstring,” Griekspoor said of his injury.
“I’m just going to try to recover as well as possible, do everything I can and hopefully be ready for tomorrow,” he added.
Rublev was understandably disappointed.
“Tallon, I guess he was not feeling well, but out of it he did as best as he could. He started to go for the shots and all of them went through,” he said.
“I don’t know if he will be able to play tomorrow, but today was his day.”
Earlier on center court, Medvedev played a perfect match to improve his record against Auger-Aliassime to 8-2.
In a high-quality semifinal, the players were neck and neck through the first nine games before a perfectly-struck lob from Medvedev drew the error that gave the third seed a set point on the Canadian’s serve.
Medvedev converted it on the back of a 24-shot rally to secure a one-set lead in 44 minutes.
The 30-year-old kept pressuring the Auger-Aliassime serve and broke in game four on his way to a 4-1 advantage in the second set and he never looked back, wrapping up the win in one hour and 23 minutes.
![]()
Medvedev swats Auger-Aliassime aside to reach Dubai final
Short Url
https://arab.news/68tku
Medvedev swats Auger-Aliassime aside to reach Dubai final
Medvedev to face Griekspoor in bid for second Dubai title
- Former world No. 1 Medvedev demolished top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the semifinal
- Despite an injury, unseeded Dutchman Griekspoor beat 5th-seed Andrey Rublev in the other semifinal
DUBAI: Daniil Medvedev reached the Dubai Tennis Championships final on Friday and will face unseeded Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor as the Russian attempts to achieve something that has eluded him throughout his stellar career — winning the same tournament twice.
Former world number one Medvedev demolished top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 6-2 in an 83-minute semifinal, setting up a title clash that could see him claim a second Dubai crown to go with his 2023 triumph.
Medvedev, who has won 22 titles at 22 different tournaments, arrived in Dubai with a point to prove after early exits in Rotterdam and Doha.
However, the third seed has been in scintillating form in Dubai, dispatching Shang Juncheng, Stan Wawrinka, Jenson Brooksby and Auger-Aliassime — all in straight sets.
“It has been an amazing four matches, probably playing better and better each match, today being the best performance,” said Medvedev.
“If I can put in an even better performance tomorrow, I will have my chances to win and that is what I am going to try to do.”
Griekspoor battles injury to beat Rublev
Standing in his way will be Griekspoor, who continued his giant-killing run by beating fifth seed Andrey Rublev 7-5 7-6(6) in the other semifinal.
The Dutchman denied the 2022 champion, who also finished runner-up the following year, another shot at the Dubai trophy, saving two set points in the second-set tiebreak.
“No idea how I pulled off this one, I could barely walk at the end of the first set,” said Griekspoor, who took a medical timeout for treatment in the opening set.
“He served extremely well. I got very lucky in the tiebreak to win it in two sets ... I landed with a serve and felt something in my hamstring.
“If he had won the tiebreak, I don’t know if I would have continued.”
It marked three consecutive top-20 wins for Griekspoor for the first time in his career after he beat second seed Alexander Bublik and Jakub Mensik en route to the final.
Griekspoor, who has won three ATP 250 titles in his career, will be looking to add a first ATP 500 trophy to his collection when he faces Medvedev.
Former world number one Medvedev demolished top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 6-2 in an 83-minute semifinal, setting up a title clash that could see him claim a second Dubai crown to go with his 2023 triumph.
Medvedev, who has won 22 titles at 22 different tournaments, arrived in Dubai with a point to prove after early exits in Rotterdam and Doha.
However, the third seed has been in scintillating form in Dubai, dispatching Shang Juncheng, Stan Wawrinka, Jenson Brooksby and Auger-Aliassime — all in straight sets.
“It has been an amazing four matches, probably playing better and better each match, today being the best performance,” said Medvedev.
“If I can put in an even better performance tomorrow, I will have my chances to win and that is what I am going to try to do.”
Griekspoor battles injury to beat Rublev
Standing in his way will be Griekspoor, who continued his giant-killing run by beating fifth seed Andrey Rublev 7-5 7-6(6) in the other semifinal.
The Dutchman denied the 2022 champion, who also finished runner-up the following year, another shot at the Dubai trophy, saving two set points in the second-set tiebreak.
“No idea how I pulled off this one, I could barely walk at the end of the first set,” said Griekspoor, who took a medical timeout for treatment in the opening set.
“He served extremely well. I got very lucky in the tiebreak to win it in two sets ... I landed with a serve and felt something in my hamstring.
“If he had won the tiebreak, I don’t know if I would have continued.”
It marked three consecutive top-20 wins for Griekspoor for the first time in his career after he beat second seed Alexander Bublik and Jakub Mensik en route to the final.
Griekspoor, who has won three ATP 250 titles in his career, will be looking to add a first ATP 500 trophy to his collection when he faces Medvedev.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.