Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev will shoot for his second Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title after beating top-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals on Friday in the United Arab Emirates.
Standing in the way of the Russian will be the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor, who topped fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia 7-5, 7-6 (6) in the other semifinal.
Medvedev owns a 22-19 record in ATP Tour finals, including a victory over Rublev for the 2023 Dubai title. He has never won any event more than once, a stat he could erase on Saturday.
Medvedev dominated Auger-Aliassime with his serve, winning 88% on his first serve and never letting the Canadian reach break point.
Griekspoor has a 3-2 record in career finals, having split a pair last year. He scored the only break of the match to win the first set, then saved two set points for Rublev in the second-set tiebreaker while winning the last four points of the match.
BCI Seguros Chile Open
Two Argentines posted straight-set wins in the quarterfinals at Santiago, Chile.
Top-seeded Francisco Cerundolo needed just 66 minutes to down the United States’ Emilio Nava 6-1, 6-1, and third-seeded Sebastian Baez eliminated the last Chilean player in the field, eighth-seeded Alejandro Tabilo, 7-6 (2), 6-1.
Cerundolo’s semifinal foe will be Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann, who rallied past Lithuanian lucky loser Vilius Gaubas 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Baez will go up against second-seeded Luciano Darderi, who bested qualifier Andrea Pellegrino 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in an all-Italian quarterfinal.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel
Fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli will chase the third ATP Tour of his career, all in the past year, when he plays for the championship on Saturday in Acapulco, Mexico.
The Italian edged Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4 in the semifinals. Cobolli produced a 36-26 edge in winners, including a 13-7 advantage in aces, while making one fewer unforced error than Kecmanovic (37-36).
Cobolli’s final-round opponent will be the winner of the late Friday semifinal, an all-U.S. matchup featuring eighth-seeded Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima.
–Field Level Media
