Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev were on route for a title rematch at the Dubai Championships after winning their quarterfinal matches on Thursday.
Medvedev, the defending champion and No. 1 seed, defeated eighth-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 6-3 to go to the semifinals against fifth-seeded Ugo Humbert. Furthermore, Rublev advanced after Sebastian Korda retired with an unexplained ailment. Rublev was leading 6-4, 4-3 at the time. Also read: Donna Vekic Net Worth 2024, Annual Income, Endorsements, Cars, Houses, Properties, Charities, Etc.
Andrey Rublev will face seventh-seeded Alexander Bublik, who advanced to the semifinals after Czech opponent Jiri Lehecka resigned due to injury. The big-serving Bublik was up 6-4, 4-1.
Medvedev beat Rublev 6-2, 6-2 in the all-Russian hard-court competition final a year ago. The 2021 US Open champion has 20 singles victories, 18 on hard courts, but has never won the same tournament twice.
Humbert advanced by defeating Hubert Hurkacz, the third seed, 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-3, in the final match of the evening. The Frenchman survived three match points in the second-set tiebreaker to win his second encounter against Hurkacz after losing to him at the Australian Open in January. Also read: Rafael Nadal 2007 French Open winning racket sells for $118k at auction