Post by : Bianca
Haleem
World No. 25 Tallon Griekspoor has advanced to the final of the 34th edition of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, setting up an exciting title clash with Russia’s Daniil Medvedev.
Griekspoor booked his place in the ATP 500 final after defeating Russia’s Andrey Rublev, the world No. 18 and 2022 Dubai champion, in straight sets 7-5, 7-6. The semi-final lasted one hour and 45 minutes on Friday evening.
This win was special for the Dutch player as it marked his first victory over Rublev after losing their previous three meetings. With this achievement, Griekspoor also became the first player from the Netherlands to reach the final in the tournament’s history.
In the other semi-final, world No. 11 and third seed Medvedev secured his place in the final with a strong straight-sets win over Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, the top seed and world No. 8. Medvedev won 6-4, 6-2 in just one hour and 24 minutes.
Medvedev, who won the Dubai title in 2023, is aiming to lift the trophy for the second time. If he wins, it will be the first successful title defence of his career. Although he has won 22 ATP titles, each of those victories came at different tournaments, and he has never defended a title before.
Adding more excitement to the final, Griekspoor had defeated Medvedev in the quarter-finals of last year’s Dubai tournament in three sets. This sets up an interesting rematch as both players prepare to battle for the championship trophy.
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