Medvedev cruises to Dubai SFs, Humbert saves 3 MPs

Daniil Medvedev extended his winning streak to eight matches at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Thursday when he moved past Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.

The No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was too consistent for Davidovich Fokina throughout the 89-minute clash. He struck 15 winners and committed just six unforced errors, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to improve to 4-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

"Alejandro can play very well," Medvedev said. "Sometimes during matches he can have a little down moment and then he goes up. I knew that no matter the score, I needed to go until the last point. The second set at one moment got a bit tighter but I managed to stay there and win some more games and it was enough to win."

Medvedev 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 📚@DaniilMedwed passes the Davidovich Fokina test 6-2 6-3 to reach his 52nd tour-level semi-final!@DDFTennis | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/b09N3z9J1Q

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 29, 2024

Medvedev is competing for the first time since he reached the final at the Australian Open last month and will continue the quest for his first title of the season against Ugo Humbert.

The top seed earned a three-set victory against Lorenzo Sonego in the previous round and complained about nerves during the opening stages of that match. The 28-year-old looked much more comfortable against Davidovich Fokina, breaking the Spaniard’s serve four times to triumph.

"I was feeling better," Medvedev said. "I don't know what happened yesterday. A few people around me got a small virus, so maybe it is this. Some days that happens but I am happy today happened. I am not at my best shape yet but we have some more matches."

Last year, Medvedev lifted the trophy at the ATP 500 in Dubai. He then reached the final in Indian Wells and clinched the crown in Miami.

Frenchman Humbert saved three match points in the second-set tie-break en route to a 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-3 victory against third seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Humbert, who hit 24 winners, has now reached three ATP 500 semi-finals. The fifth seed, currently at a career-high No. 18, also beat Hurkacz en route to the title in Marseille earlier this month.

The other semi-final in Dubai will be contested by Andrey Rublev and Alexander Bublik, who both advanced to the last four after their quarter-final opponents were forced to retire due to injury.

The second-seeded Rublev led Sebastian Korda 6-4, 4-3 when the American shook hands due to an injury. The 26-year-old Rublev, the current No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is now into his fourth consecutive semi-final in Dubai, where he lifted the trophy in 2022.

Bublik led Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 4-1 when the Czech retired due to injury. The seventh-seeded Bublik has made a strong start to 2024 and his clash with Rublev on Friday will be his third ATP Tour quarter-final of the year. Both Rublev and Bublik are chasing their second ATP Tour title of the season after their victories in Hong Kong and Montpellier, respectively.