Rublev beats Zverev for 1st time, advances to Dubai final

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Defending champion Andrey Rublev advanced to the final at the Dubai Championships on Friday by beating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (9) for his first tour-level win over the German.

Rublev needed six match points to finally put away Zverev. The Russian will face either top-ranked Novak Djokovic or former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the final.

The 25-year-old Rublev had lost all five previous matches against his longtime friend, who had reached his first semifinal match since the French Open last June.

The sixth-ranked Rublev saved a set point in the second-set tiebreaker.

Djokovic and Medvedev play in the other semifinal match later Friday. Djokovic has a 20-match winning streak; Medvedev has won 12 in a row.

Medvedev beat Djokovic in the

final of the 2021 U.S. Open

for his first — and only — major title and in the process denied Djokovic of the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s singles since 1969.

But Djokovic has won the last four of their meetings.

___

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and

https://twitter.com/AP_Sports