Felix Auger-Aliassime sets Daniil Medvedev SF for payback bid in Dubai | ATP tour | Tennis

Dubai

Auger-Aliassime sets Medvedev SF up for a payback bid in Dubai

Canadian, which lost to Tsitsipas in the final last year, improves to 11-1 in February
February 26, 2026

Felix Auger-Aliassime has no plans to slow down his blistering February run at this week’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The in-form Canadian eased past Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 7-6(2) at the ATP 500 event on Thursday to advance to his third consecutive tour-level semi-final. After lifting the trophy in Montpellier and taking second place in Rotterdam, Auger-Aliassime now has an 11-1 record this month and is just two wins away from avenging last year’s final defeat in Dubai to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

2025: Finalist
2026: 🤔

FAA returns to the last four in Dubai, eliminating Lehecka 6-3, 7-6(2)@DDFTennis | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/OJoPp7vUVc

— ATP tour (@atptour) February 26, 2026

Competing as the top seed in an event above ATP 250 level for the first time, the 25-year-old has shown few signs of nerves. He hasn’t lost a set in three matches this week and against Lehecka he saved both break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

In Friday’s semi-finals, Auger-Aliassime will meet third seed and 2023 Dubai champion Daniil Medvedev, who has a 7-2 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“We have very different playing styles,” said Auger-Aliassime, who went 0-7 against Medvedev between 2018 and 2024. “I’m going to try to get forward, he’s going to try to make me miss. We’ll see who gets the better of the game plan. He got the better of me… It took me seven or eight times to beat him.”

Most semi-final appearances at tour level (players born since 2000)

Medvedev launched Thursday’s quarter-final with an impressive 6-2, 6-1 win over Jenson Brooksby to book his third semi-final in Dubai in his last four appearances at the ATP 500 tournament.

The former world No. 1 ended the 2025 season with a series of steady results – including back-to-back semi-finals in Beijing and Shanghai and a title in Almaty – and is aiming for a return to the Top 10 for the first time since June. He opened 2026 with a title run in Brisbane and is currently just 345 points behind No. 10 Alexander Bublik in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

“There were moments in my career when I was better prepared,” Medvedev said when asked about his recent consistency. “Funnily enough, they say ‘Rookies are lucky’. It was more like this. Everything was new, I didn’t care…I just played the way I felt.”

“Now I have a lot more thoughts in my head, which sometimes can help me, but sometimes I have to get rid of them to play better. I still know that I can be consistent. For example, at the end of last year I was super consistent and this year I am trying to get that back again. This tournament has been great so far.”