We all know that Novak Djokovic is first in the world at the moment. However, there is no doubt that 2021 United States Open champion Daniil Medvedev of Moscow, Russia is playing like the second best tennis player in the world.
On Saturday, Medvedev beat fellow Russian Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship in the United Arab Emirates. One major statistic came down to the serve. Medvedev had nine aces, compared to three for Rublev. Medvedev also broke Rublev four times in seven opportunities, while Rublev did not even have one break point chance.
Medvedev made tennis headlines on Friday when beat world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals of Dubai. Seeded third, Medvedev beat the top two seeds in the tournament as Rublev was seeded second and Djokovic was first. Medvedev also been another seeded player in Dubai, as he knocked out the eighth seed, Borna Coric of Croatia, 6-3, 6-2, in the quarterfinals.
With the win, Medvedev moved from seventh to sixth in the world. Interestingly, the one person he leapfrogged in the world rankings was Rublev.
This was Medvedev’s 18th career ATP singles title, and the third Russian to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. In 2021, Aslan Karatsev defeated Lloyd Harris of South Africa in the final, 6-3, 6-2. Then in 2022, Rubev defeated Jiri Vesely of Czechia in the final, 6-3, 6-4.
This was Medvedev’s third ATP title in 2023. He previously beat Jannik Sinner of Italy in the final of Rotterdam 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 and then beat Andy Murray of Great Britain in the final of Qatar, 6-4, 6-4.
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