omnisport-MyKhel Team

Daniil Medvedev will do battle with Tallon Griekspoor in the Dubai Tennis Championships final after the 2023 champion beat top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets.

Medvedev, who has reached his 42nd ATP Tour-level showpiece, did so with an emphatic 6-4 6-2 win over Auger-Aliassime in a one-hour-and-23-minute battle on Friday.

The pair traded blows in a tightly-contested first set, but it was Auger-Aliassime who was the first to blink, with Medvedev taking advantage in the 10th game to lead the match.

And from there, Medvedev controlled proceedings as he got the better of the Canadian’s serve once more to race into a 5-2 lead after back-to-back love service games.

Medvedev sealed his progression against the serve and in some style, sending a sensational backhand return down the left baseline from Auger-Aliassime’s powerful serve.

“It has been an amazing four matches, probably playing better and better each match, today being the best performance,” Medvedev said.

“If I can put an even better performance tomorrow, I will have my chances to win, and that is what I am going to try to do.”

Medvedev’s reward for his win is a clash with Griekspoor, who beat fifth seed Andrey Rublev 7-5 7-6 (8-6), though the Dutchman was made to work for his victory.

Griekspoor saved two set points in the second-set tie-break at 6-4 down, as well as fending off all six break points he faced in the match, before going on to take the victory.

Indeed, it is the first time a Dutch player has ever reached the final in Dubai, with Griekspoor now out to stop Medvedev from winning a 23rd ATP Tour-level crown.

Dubai: Menacing Medvedev puts on a show

Medvedev arrived at his final-four clash with confidence after victories over Shang Juncheng, Stan Wawrinka and Jenson Brooksby, and he maintained his run of not dropping a set in Dubai with arguably his best display of the tournament to date.

He impressed particularly on serve, winning 88% (23/26) of his first-serve points to Auger-Aliassime’s 64% (28/44), and that proved to be key in the contest as he improved his head-to-head record against the world number eight to 8-2.

Medvedev is now into his second final of the season after winning his 20th hard-court tour-level title in Brisbane in January, improving his overall record to 13-3 in 2026.