Daniel Medvedev handed Novak Djokovic his first loss of the year, beating the world number one 6-4 6-4 on Friday to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships final where he plays titular Andrei Rublev for a third title in as many weeks.
In a contest where players put their early-season winning streaks on the line, it was Rotterdam and Doha champion Medvedev who drew first blood by twice smashing an error-prone Djokovic and closing the first. set with a searing forehand.
Playing in his first tournament since winning the Adelaide and Australian Open titles, Djokovic hardly made a mistake except for a minor scare in his first match against Tomas Machac.
The 35-year-old had his moments and looked the better player after losing 2-5 in the first set, but dropped his serve again early in the second after hitting a long return.
It was the opening Medvedev could only have dreamed of in his bid for a fifth win over Djokovic in 14 matches and the Russian surged to a 4-2 lead after some high octane tennis.
Former US Open champion Medvedev pulled away again with an ace for a crucial hold and sealed a 13th consecutive win in his next service game.
Earlier, Russia’s Rublev reached title shock with a first career win over Alexander Zverev, capping a 6-3 7-6(9) victory on his sixth match point.
“I thought it was going to be a third set,” said Rublev, who will be aiming for his 13th ATP title on Saturday. “I was preparing for it mentally but I kind of saved a set point.”
It was Zverev’s first semi-final since injuring his ankle at Roland Garros and having surgery and the German showed a glimpse of the form that took him to world number two the last year.
But a determined Rublev recovered from a drop in his level to ensure there was no late drama.
“I had a few match points but he played well. At 9-9 I made a good comeback and said ‘OK, let’s try to do it here’. I won a crazy rally and I was lucky,” he said.
In a contest where players put their early-season winning streaks on the line, it was Rotterdam and Doha champion Medvedev who drew first blood by twice smashing an error-prone Djokovic and closing the first. set with a searing forehand.
Playing in his first tournament since winning the Adelaide and Australian Open titles, Djokovic hardly made a mistake except for a minor scare in his first match against Tomas Machac.
The 35-year-old had his moments and looked the better player after losing 2-5 in the first set, but dropped his serve again early in the second after hitting a long return.
It was the opening Medvedev could only have dreamed of in his bid for a fifth win over Djokovic in 14 matches and the Russian surged to a 4-2 lead after some high octane tennis.
Former US Open champion Medvedev pulled away again with an ace for a crucial hold and sealed a 13th consecutive win in his next service game.
Earlier, Russia’s Rublev reached title shock with a first career win over Alexander Zverev, capping a 6-3 7-6(9) victory on his sixth match point.
“I thought it was going to be a third set,” said Rublev, who will be aiming for his 13th ATP title on Saturday. “I was preparing for it mentally but I kind of saved a set point.”
It was Zverev’s first semi-final since injuring his ankle at Roland Garros and having surgery and the German showed a glimpse of the form that took him to world number two the last year.
But a determined Rublev recovered from a drop in his level to ensure there was no late drama.
“I had a few match points but he played well. At 9-9 I made a good comeback and said ‘OK, let’s try to do it here’. I won a crazy rally and I was lucky,” he said.
