DUBAI-. Russian Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev continued their march towards a possible reissue of the duel for the Dubai tournament title after the Russians emerged victorious from their respective quarterfinal matches.
Medvedev, reigning champion and first seed, defeated Spanish Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (8th seed) 6-2, 6-3. His current rival will be the winner of the match between the Polish Hubert Hurkacz (3rd seed) and the Frenchman Ugo Humbert (5th).
Rublev (2) advanced when his American rival Sebastian Korda was unable to continue due to an unspecified ailment. Rublev led 6-4, 4-3 at the time of abandonment.
Rublev’s next opponent will be Kazakh Alexander Bublik (7th), who also advanced after his rival retired. Bublik beat Czech Jiri Lehecka 64, 4-1.
A year ago, Medvedev defeated Rublev 6-2, 6-2 in a Russian final at the hard-court tournament. The 2021 US Open champion has 20 career singles titles — 18 on hard courts — but Medvedev has never won the same tournament twice.
FOUNTAIN: AFP
