It will be a repeat of the wild rivalry from 12 months ago when Daniil Medvedev and Tallon Griekspoor meet again at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday – this time for the title.
They met in the quarterfinals last year, when Griekspoor came back from the top, saved two points in the second game at 4-5, fought another two at 5-6, and finally won 2-6, 7-6(7), 7-5 after two hours and 37 minutes. Amazingly, that was the only time they ever met on the professional tour.
The second chapter may not be as exciting. Griekspoor is playing well, but struggled with a leg injury during his 7-5, 7-6(6) win over Andrey Rublev on Friday night. The 25th-ranked Dutchman played some very aggressive tennis in an attempt to keep the score short – and it worked.
Unfortunately for Griekspoor, it probably won’t work against Medvedev. The world No. 11 is a superior defender compared to his Russian counterpart, so his usual strategy of playing a million miles behind the starting line and putting tons of balls back in play should work well against an opponent who might be less than 100 percent.
Regardless of Griekspoor, Medvedev is in stellar form and should be considered the heavy favorite even if all other things are equal. The 3rd seed is 13-3 this season with titles in Brisbane and Dubai defeating Jerry Shang, Stan Wawrinka, Jenson Brooksby, and Felix Auger-Aliassime – all in quick straight sets.
Medvedev won the event in 2023, so hopefully his incredible record of never winning the same tournament twice finally comes to an end.
Pick: Medvedev at 2
