It promises to be a thrilling day of semifinal action at the ATP Dubai Tennis Championships with two potentially enthralling matches on the schedule. The four players own 23 Grand Slam titles between them, though 22 of those titles belong to just one of them. Still, all four can justly claim to be amongst the leading lights of men’s tennis. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for both semifinals, but who will reach Saturday’s final?
ATP Dubai Semifinal Predictions
Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Zverev
Head-to-head: Zverev 5-0 Rublev
Andrey Rublev is a very fine player. He has also lost all five of his previous meetings with Alexander Zverev, without winning a single set. The closest he has come was losing a tiebreak four years ago in Shanghai. In many ways, that reflects the Russian’s career. Against most players, his consistently powerful hitting is enough to see him to victory. But he does not have much by way of variety and although he has power, he is not a big-hitter in the mould of say Juan Martin del Potro. Or Zverev.
At least when he wants to be. The German is too often too passive, but even so he was consistently ranked inside the top five and, after a lengthy injury layoff, looks to be getting back to his best. He did suffer a hugely disappointing loss to Andy Murray last week in Doha, but he has bounced back from that disappoint in ruthlessly efficient style so far in Dubai. With this clearly a match up he enjoys, expect him to continue his resurgence, even if Rublev, who has improved since they last met in the summer of 2021, may well win his first set in this rivalry.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
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Novak Djokovic vs Daniil Medvedev
Head-to-head: Djokovic 9-4 Medvedev
After a tense opener against Tomas Machac, Novak Djokovic’s passage to the last four has been assured, with a pair of straight-set wins over Tallon Griekspoor and fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz. Daniil Medvedev path to the last four has been even more straightforward, with the Russian winning all three of his matches in straight sets. A sublime performance against Borna Coric in the quarterfinals saw Medvedev tally 21 consecutive points in the second set to round off a 6-3 6-2 win.
At this time last year, Medvedev looked lost. Truth be told, this time last month, Medvedev looked lost. But right now, the Russian is back to his best, or at least something very close to it. He has also shown in the past that he can be a very troublesome opponent for Djokovic, even if the Serbian has taken a decisive lead in their head-to-head. Fatigue may be an issue for Medvedev, however, with the Russian having played a lot of tennis in recent weeks.
He is also playing one of the greatest of all-time seemingly once again playing at the peak of his powers. Djokovic is 15-0 in 2023 and has not lost a match since Holger Rune beat him in a three-set thriller in the final in Bercy. And even that defeat is the only reverse he has suffered in his last 34 matches. Medvedev, who is riding a 12-match winning steak of his own, has the quality to make this a real challenge for Djokovic. But expect the world #1 to end up on the right side of the scoreline.
Prediction: Djokovic in 3
Main photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
