Medvedev stops Djokovic, in Dubai against Rublev tomorrow it will be an all-Russian final

The official anti-Djokovic, for now, is him: Daniil Medvedev. The Russian «expat» in the Côte d’Azur where for years he has found a coach, Gilles Cervara, who manages (almost, not always) to tame his whims, and the best conditions for training.

In fact, in the semifinals of the ATP 500 in Dubai, Medvedev beat Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-4, inflicting his fifth defeat in fourteen matches. And it is also the fifth time that Daniil wins while the Serbian is number one in the world ranking. Other than him, only Fededer and Murray have succeeded, while Nadal, hors categories, is at an altitude of ten. After all, Medvedev, whom we are not discovering today, was the only one of the former Next Gen capable of beating Djoker in a Grand Slam final, in 2021 at the US Open, when he denied him the Grand Slam, and was twice a finalist at the Australians Open in 2020 and 2021, as well as number 1 in turn and ‘Maestro’ in London in 2020.

«But I’m not so young anymore, I’m no longer part of the Next gen – the Russian joked a week ago in Qatar, who is looking for a third consecutive title in the Emirates after Rotterdam and Dubai – I’m now twenty-seven years old: let’s say I’ve reached middle age…”.

The first defeat of the year for Djokovic corresponds with the thirteenth straight victory for the Muscovite Daniil, who in tomorrow’s final will meet his fellow citizen and great friend Andrey Rublev, in turn victorious over Sascha Zverev in the other semifinal (6-3 7- 6).

Not the most popular Final, right now; and in recent weeks Wimbledon is deciding whether to repeat last year’s ban on Russians and Belarusians. But it must be said that both Medvedev and above all Rublev have repeatedly reiterated their opposition to the war, courageously exposing themselves with arguments that are not appreciated by the Putin regime. Among other things, after the success on Zverev – German by birth but also of 100 percent Russian origins – Andrey wrote on the camera “Tsoi is alive”: a tribute to Viktor Tsoi, rocker from Leningrad who died in an accident in 1990 only 28 years old, very popular at home, defined as the “Soviet Jim Morrison”, but decidedly unwelcome by the then Soviet regime.

Whatever happens, and extra-sport considerations aside, it will be a match between two of the fittest players on the circuit. «When you play with Novak you have to give your best», admitted Medvedev, author of just 12 gratuitous errors against his opponent’s unusual 38, and who hasn’t lost a set yet in Dubai. “In addition, you also have to hope that he is not at his best, because he has won 22 Grand Slams and even if you do everything to beat him, he is not at all sure that you can do it”. The balance between Medvedev and Rublev is 4 to 2 in favor of Daniil, but Rublev’s two victories are also the freshest, in Cincinnato in 2021 and at the ATP Finals in Turin last year”. The final will be broadcast tomorrow at 4pm on Sky Sport and Supertennis and streamed on SuperTenniX.