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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
Sport
Asharq Al-Awsat

Rublev Beats Zverev for 1st Time, Advances to Dubai Final

Andrey Rublev celebrates after he beats Germany's Alexander Zverev during their semi final match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 3, 2023. (AP)

Defending champion Andrey Rublev advanced to the final at the Dubai Championships on Friday by beating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (9) for his first tour-level win over the German.

Rublev needed six match points to finally put away Zverev. The Russian will face either top-ranked Novak Djokovic or former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the final.

The 25-year-old Rublev had lost all five previous matches against his longtime friend, who had reached his first semifinal match since the French Open last June.

The sixth-ranked Rublev saved a set point in the second-set tiebreaker.

“Today when I was going on court, I was thinking I have nothing to lose. He always beat me, so why I need to be tight,” said Rublev, who last year beat Jiri Vesely for the title.

Djokovic and Medvedev play in the other semifinal match later Friday. Djokovic has a 20-match winning streak; Medvedev has won 12 in a row.

Medvedev beat Djokovic in the final of the 2021 US Open for his first — and only — major title and in the process denied Djokovic of the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s singles since 1969.

But Djokovic has won the last four of their meetings.

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