Dubai Championship Tennis: Medvedev stops Djokovic's winning streak

Daniil Medvedev ended Novak Djokovic's quest for a sixth Dubai Championship crown on Friday. Medvedev won 6-4, 6-4 against the top seed to set up an all-Russian final against defending champion Andrey Rublev.

Medvedev, who is making his third appearance in Dubai Championship, is yet to drop a set this week, having also beaten Matteo Arnaldi, Alexander Bublik and Borna Coric in the first round.The third-seeded Russian beat Djokovic for the fifth time in nine meetings and the first time since the 2021 US Open final as Medvedev also won 6-4, 6-4. At the same time, this was Djokovic's first defeat of 2023, entering the match on a winning streak of 20 matches.

To deflect Djokovic's ball-striking, the third seed positioned himself far back from the baseline. Compared to Djokovic's 38 unforced errors, Medvedev made just 12. He moved quickly down the court, chasing down several drops. Eventually Medvedev won the match after one hour and 35 minutes in the Dubai Championship semifinals. In February, the 27-year-old won tour-level titles in Rotterdam and Doha. When he takes on Andrey Rublev in Saturday's final, he will look to win his 18th tour-level championship and 17th on hard courts.

Earlier, Medvedev defeated Djokovic in the 2021 US Open final. He prevented the Serbian from becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win a Grand Slam. Although world No. 7 Medvedev won long rallies to improve to 5-9 in his ATP head-to-head series. But he was unable to make it five and went 15-0 at the start of the season. Medvedev had lost his last four meetings with Djokovic. Djokovic was on a 20-match win streak stretching back to last year's ATP Finals, coming into the contest.

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However, Djokovic's participation at Indian Wells which starts on March 8 remains in doubt as the Serb has not take vaccine against coronavirus. He has to waits to hear if he has been granted a visa waiver to the US. Djokovic will know one way or the other on his chances of playing in the United States on Monday when the draw for the Indian Wells event takes place.