Medvedev claims Dubai title after Griekspoor withdraws
Daniil Medvedev claimed the title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday after Tallon Griekspoor withdrew ahead of their final due to a left hamstring injury.
Griekspoor sustained the injury during his semi-final victory over Andrey Rublev on Friday. He landed awkwardly after a serve and, although he went on to complete a straight-sets win, he was unable to recover in time for the championship match, resulting in a walkover.
“I have been better, that’s for sure,” Griekspoor said during the trophy ceremony. “Unfortunately, I hurt myself during the semi-finals. I went to the hospital this morning and had a couple of scans, which showed something serious. It kept me from coming on court tonight and will keep me from the court in the coming weeks.”
The title is Medvedev’s 23rd tour-level crown and second of the 2026 season after winning in Brisbane in January. It is also the first time the 30-year-old has won the same event twice, having previously triumphed in Dubai in 2023.
At No. 11 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Medvedev is just 45 points behind No. 10 Alexander Bublik as he bids to return to the Top 10 for the first time since June last year.
“That’s what is crazy about it,” Medvedev said when asked about winning the same event twice for the first time. “I never did it in any city in the world, and the first time I do it, it’s [via] a walkover… We knew before the start of the week, the way I was practising, I couldn’t miss a ball. We knew it was going to be a great week. It was a great week and I’m looking forward to the next tournaments to come.”
With his 21st tour-level trophy on hard courts, Medvedev tied World No. 2 Jannik Sinner for the second-most on the surface among active players, behind Novak Djokovic (72).
Most hard-court titles (active players)
| Player | Titles |
| 1) Novak Djokovic | 72 |
| T2) Jannik Sinner | 21 |
| T2) Daniil Medvedev | 21 |
| 4) Marin Cilic | 16 |
| 5) Alexander Zverev | 15 |
Griekspoor was seeking the fourth and biggest ATP Tour title of his career in Dubai, where he recorded wins over Top 20 players Bublik, Jakub Mensik and Rublev this week. The Dutchman’s only prior Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Medvedev came in Dubai last year, when he memorably saved four match points en route to the semi-finals.
Medvedev will next compete at the ATP Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, where he is a two-time finalist. He owns a 13-3 record in 2026, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
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