Daniil Medvedev beats Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach Dubai final | ATP Tour
match report
Medvedev beats Auger-Aliassime to reach Dubai final
Medvedev faces either Rublev or Grikspur in Saturday’s final
February 27, 2026
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Daniil Medvedev defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in Dubai on Friday.
Sam Jacott
Will Daniil Medvedev finally repeat as champion for the first time in his career this week? The third seed defeated third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2 on Friday to reach the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Medvedev has 22 tour-level titles, each of which was won in a different event. On Saturday, he’ll have a chance to change that. The 2023 Dubai champion will compete against Andrey Rublev or Tallon Griekspoor for the trophy.
Earlier this week, Medvedev defeated Shang Juncheng, Stan Wawrinka and Jason Brooksby in straight sets to meet Auger-Aliassime for the 10th time in his career. He controlled the baseline exchanges with Auger-Aliassime, wearing down the Canadian with deep and precise strikes and improving his Lexus ATP Head2Head Series record to 8-2.
“It’s been an amazing four games, probably getting better and better every game, and today was the best performance,” Medvedev said. “If I can play better tomorrow, I have a chance to win and that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
Medvedev captured key moments in a controlled performance. With the score at 4-5 and 30/40 in the first set, Auger-Aliassime missed a forehand, allowing Medvedev to score first. At 1-2 in the second set, the Canadian once again sent a long forehand to break Medvedev’s serve. The PIF ATP Ranking No. 11 capped off the match with a clean backhand winner in 82 minutes.
Auger-Aliassime is aiming to reach the Championship in Dubai for the second consecutive season. The Canadians lifted the trophy in Montpellier earlier this month. He now turns his attention to the BNP Paribas Open, the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the season.
Medvedev reaches his second final of the season after winning his 20th hard-court tour title in Brisbane in January. According to the Infosys ATP Win-Loss Index, he has a 13-3 record this year.
