World No. 1 and top seed Novak Djokovic saw his 20-match win streak of 2023 snapped Friday when Daniil Medvedev pulled off a 6-4, 6-4 win in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Classic in the United Arab Emirates.
Medvedev, the third seed and World No. 7, increased his winning streak to 13 matches, and he’ll be seeking his third straight tournament title on Saturday when he meets second-seeded Andrey Rublev in an all-Russian final. Rublev defeated Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the seventh seed, 6-3, 7-6 (9) to advance.
On Friday, Medvedev committed 12 unforced errors compared to 38 for Djokovic. Medvedev improved to 5-9 all-time against the Serbian. Djokovic was seeking his sixth Dubai title, winning in 2009-11, 2013 and 2020.
In the other semifinal, Rublev broke Zverev’s serve three times to take the first set. In the second set, Zverev served nine aces, and neither player forced a service break. In the end, the set came down to just a three-point differential, with Rublev tallying 47 to 44 for Zverev.
–Field Level Media