The Serb, recent winner of the Australian Open, his 22nd Grand Slam title, also saw his series of twenty consecutive victories come to an end against the world No.7, after 1h35 of play.

Medvedev will face compatriot Andrey Rublev in the final on Saturday, who earlier defeated German Alexander Zverev in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 (11-9), for the first time in six meetings.

"Djoko" returned to Dubai in competition a month after his triumph in Melbourne and a thigh injury.

Impeccable until the semi-finals, with only one set conceded against the Czech Tomas Machac in the first round, the Serb was pushed to his limits by Medvedev in a high-intensity meeting.

"When you play Novak, you have to play your best tennis. I'm happy to have managed to get to his level," said the Russian after the match, author of eight aces on his 27 winning strokes.

"an incredible feeling"

After a first set pocketed in 40 minutes, Medvedev then resisted attempts to return his opponent of the day before winning courage in 1 hour 34 minutes.

Russian Daniil Medvedev after his victory over Novak Djokovic at the Dubai ATP tournament on March 3, 2023 © Karim SAHIB / AFP

"In the second set there were a lot of difficult situations, even though I didn't have a break point against me", he continued, before admitting: "I felt better before the match. that now it's still hard physically", against Djokovic.

Medvedev, who remained on four consecutive defeats against Djokovic, confirms his return to the fore.

"Every time I beat Novak I get an incredible feeling. He's probably the greatest tennis player of all time," Medvedev said.

"It gives you a boost of confidence, like + Wow, I could beat Novak, I can definitely beat anyone +", he assured.

On Saturday, the 27-year-old Russian could afford his third title of the year after Doha and Rotterdam, the 18th of his career, in the event of victory against Rublev, defending champion in Dubai, who reiterated his call for favor on Friday. of peace, saying it is "crazy" to see "normal citizens suffering and dying" as the conflict in Ukraine rages on.

Rublev against war

"Of course it's hard. It's hard to talk about it because even if you try to play tennis or whatever, to keep training, you know it's affecting you," Rublev lamented.

Russian Andrey Rublev during his match won against German Alexander Zverev at the ATP tournament in Dubai on March 3, 2023 © Karim SAHIB / AFP

Djokovic suffered 14 unforced errors, twice as many as his opponent, but said he left Dubai with plenty of positives.

For him, the question now is whether he will be able to take part in the next spring tournaments in Indian Wells (March 8-19) and Miami (March 22-April 2).

"I'm still waiting for news from America," he said.

"If there is no America, I guess I will play on clay. Monte Carlo is probably the next tournament. If so, I will take some rest, to prepare."

The Indian Wells Masters 1000 draw is scheduled for Monday (3:00 p.m. local, 11:00 p.m. GMT).

For this, he will have to be allowed to enter American territory without being vaccinated against Covid-19, while the authorities have extended until April the obligation for international visitors to have received the anti-Covid vaccine.

In the event of a ban, he assured that he would withdraw before the draw.

© 2023 AFP