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World number 1 Novak Djokovic has seen his unbeaten start to 2023 end with a semi-final loss to Daniil Medvedev at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Djokovic opened the year with a win at the Adelaide International ahead of the Australian Open, where he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas to claim a record 22nd Grand Slam title, with the Serbian holding a 15-0 record in 2023 before his match with Medvedev.
In a contest where the players put their winning streak at the start of the season, Medvedev – who had won his previous 12 matches – drew first blood by eliminating a double-fault-prone Djokovic and closing out the first set with a forehand.
Djokovic, playing in his first tournament since his victory in Melbourne, looked the better player after going down 2-5 in the opening set, but he dropped his serve again early in the second after coming back.
Daniil Medvedev has now won 13 matches
Medvedev went on to win 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 55 minutes, making it his 13th straight sets victory and his fifth win over Djokovic in 14 meetings.
Rublev beat Zverev to reach the Dubai final
Medvedev will now face defending champion Andrey Rublev, who advanced to the final earlier in the day after defeating Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Andrey Rublev is looking to win the tournament for the second year running
Rublev, who saved five match points earlier this week against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, had not won a set in his previous five meetings against Zverev.
An impressive performance in Dubai saw Rublev flip the script, saving one set point in the second set to win 6-3 7-6 (11-9) on match point six and after one hour and 58 minutes.
“Today when I was going to the court, I thought I had nothing to lose,” Rublev said. “He always beats me!”
Rublev, who defeated Jiri Vesely in last year’s final, is looking to join Roger Federer and Djokovic as the only players to successfully defend the Dubai title.
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