Auger-Aliassime sets Medvedev SF in Dubai redemption bid
Felix Auger-Aliassime has no plans to slow his sizzling February run at this week’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The in-form Canadian moved past Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 7-6(2) on Thursday at the ATP 500 event, advancing to his third consecutive tour-level semi-final. After lifting the trophy in Montpellier and finishing runner-up in Rotterdam, Auger-Aliassime now boasts an 11-1 record this month and stands just two victories away from avenging last year’s Dubai final loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
2025: Finalist
2026: 🤔FAA returns to the last four in Dubai, knocking out Lehecka 6-3, 7-6(2)@DDFTennis | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/OJoPp7vUVc
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 26, 2026
Competing as the top seed at an event above ATP 250 level for the first time, the 25-year-old has shown little sign of nerves. He has yet to drop a set through three matches this week and, against Lehecka, he saved both break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
In Friday’s semi-final, Auger-Aliassime will meet third seed and 2023 Dubai champion Daniil Medvedev, who holds a 7-2 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“We have very different game styles,” said Auger-Aliassime, who went 0-7 versus Medvedev between 2018 and 2024. “I’m going to try to come forward, he will try and make me miss. We’ll see who gets the better of the game plan. He’s had the better of me… It took me seven or eight times before beating him.”
Most tour-level semi-finals (players born since 2000)
| Player | SFs |
| 1) Carlos Alcaraz | 46 |
| 2) Jannik Sinner | 45 |
| 3) Felix Auger-Aliassime | 42 |
| 4) Lorenzo Musetti | 25 |
| 5) Holger Rune | 24 |
Medvedev launched Thursday’s quarter-final slate with a commanding 6-2, 6-1 victory over Jenson Brooksby, booking his third Dubai semi-final in his past four appearances at the ATP 500 tournament.
The former World No. 1 closed the 2025 season with a series of steady results — including back-to-back semi-finals in Beijing and Shanghai and a title in Almaty — and is pushing toward a return to the Top 10 for the first time since June. He opened 2026 with a title run in Brisbane and currently trails No. 10 Alexander Bublik by just 345 points in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
“There were moments in my career when I was better prepared,” Medvedev said when asked about his recent consistency. “Funnily enough, they say ‘Rookies get lucky’. It was more this kind of thing. Everything was new, I didn’t care… I was just playing the way I felt.
“Now, I have a lot more thoughts in my head, which can help me sometimes, but sometimes I need to get rid of them to play better. I still know that I can be consistent. For example, at the end of last year I was super consistent, and even this year I am trying to regain it. This tournament is great so far.”
Andrey Rublev maintained his impressive record in Dubai, moving past Arthur Rinderknech 6-2, 6-4 to advance to his fifth semi-final at the ATP 500 event.
The No. 18 player in the PIF ATP Rankings lifted the trophy at the tournament in 2022 and then reached the final in 2023. Aiming to clinch the trophy in Dubai for the second time, Rublev hit through Rinderknech to improve to 4-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. He will next face sixth seed Jakub Mensik or Tallon Griekspoor.