Reigning Dubai champion Andrey Rublev will battle former world No. 2 Alexander Zverev for a spot in the Dubai final.
Andrey Rublev has had an unpredictable season so far. The Russian made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, but has otherwise been hardly able to win more than one match at a time–until this week, that is. Rublev is still ranked sixth in the world, but he his form has been all over the place. He lost in the first round in Rotterdam to Alex de Minaur and then in the quarters of Doha to world No. 52 Jiri Lehecka.
Rublev seems to have found some of the magic that saw him to the title in Dubai a year ago. He has delivered a series of impressive wins this week, with victories over Filip Krajinovic, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Botic Van de Zandschulp to earn his spot in the semis. The win over Davidovich Fokina was particularly notable, as Rublev saved five match points before defeating the Spaniard 7-6(3) in the third set.
Alexander Zverev, the world No. 16, suffered a season-ending ankle injury at the French Open last year in his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal. The German has returned to the tour, but his comeback has been slow going. Zverev is 3-6 on the season; this week has been his best result of the season by some margin, although he had a favorable path to the semis. Zverev dispatched Jiri Lehecka, qualifier Christoper O’Connell, and Lorenzo Sonego.
Rublev has never managed to beat Zverev; he has lost each of their 5 previous encounters. More concerning for him is that each of the matches has been a comfortable straight-set win for Zverev. Friday’s match represents an excellent opportunity for Rublev. Zverev is still out of form and Rublev has already proven that the courts in Dubai suit his game.
Cheryl pick: Rublev in 3
Ricky pick: Rublev in 2
WWW?
Andrei in 3
Played 5 times and Zverev has never dropped a set. Big upset if Rublev wins.
Rublev made it!