Close friends and fellow Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev remain on a collision course for the final in Dubai. However, in the semi-finals on Friday, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Tallon Greek Spoor stand in the way.
(1) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (3) Daniil Medvedev
Auger-Aliassime and Medvedev will face each other for the tenth time in their careers when they meet in the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Friday. Medvedev leads the head-to-head series 7-2, but that doesn’t really tell the current story. Since losing their first seven meetings, Auger-Aliassime have won two in a row: 6-3, 7-6(5) at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and via retirement in the Doha quarter-finals in 2025 after winning the first set 6-3.
The eighth-ranked Canadian is definitely rolling in 2026. He is 12-3 with a title in Montpellier, a second-place finish in Rotterdam and outright wins in Dubai over Zhizhen Zhang, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Jiri Lehecka. While Medvedev is also 12-3 this season, he still has some questions to answer after a rough campaign in 2025. The 11th-ranked Russian hasn’t beaten anyone ranked better than 47th since last month’s title in Brisbane, and he hasn’t defeated anyone in the top 30 since getting the best of Alex de Minaur in the Shanghai quarterfinals last fall. See if Auger-Aliassime can extend his winning streak to three in this match.
Choice: Auger-Aliassime in 3
(5) Andrey Rublev vs. Tallon Greek track
A return ticket to Dubai turns out to be exactly what the doctor ordered for Greek Spoor. The 25th-ranked Dutchman was an abysmal 3-6 in 2026 prior to this week, but he turned things around with wins over Otto Virtanen, Alexander Bublik and Jakub Mensik. Success in Dubai is nothing new for Greek track, who also reached the semi-finals last year after eliminating Medvedev and Ugo Humbert.
Next Friday for the 29-year-old is a fourth showdown against Rublev, who wins the head-to-head series 3-0. The current world no. The Russian has dismissed Humbert, Valentin Royer and Arthur Rinderknech to improve to 6-1 in his last seven matches, with just a league loss to eventual Doha champion Carlos Alcaraz during this stretch.
Choice: Rublev in 3
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