Photo courtesy of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday when Tallon Griekspoor withdrew due to a hamstring injury in the United Arab Emirates.
Griekspoor had beaten fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the semifinals on Friday but struggled with the injury sustained during that match. He said after his win that he would have retired if he lost the second set.
For Medvedev, the victory marks his 23rd career title and his second in Dubai, having previously won in 2023. It is the first time he has captured the same tournament twice.
Medvedev defeated top-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals and did not drop a set throughout the tournament.
“Not how I want to win a final. Hoping the injury for Griekspoor is not too bad and wishing him a speedy recovery,” Medvedev wrote on X.
At the BCI Seguros Chile Open, Germany’s Yannik Hanfmann upset top seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-4 in Santiago to reach his first ATP Tour final in six years and compete for his first tour title.
Hanfmann, 34, won 79 percent of his first-serve points while Cerundolo, who won the Buenos Aires title two weeks ago, struggled with 27 unforced errors. Hanfmann’s last final appearance was in September 2020.
In the other semifinal, second-seeded Luciano Darderi of Italy defeated third-seeded Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 29 minutes. Darderi saved four of six break points while Baez hit more winners and had fewer unforced errors but could not prevail.