Daniil Medvedev gets the better of Novak Djokovic in semifinal of Dubai Championship

Daniil Medvedev ended Novak Djokovic's quest for a sixth Dubai Championships crown on Friday, coming through 6-4, 6-4 against the top seed to set up an all-Russian final against defending champion Andrey Rublev.

The third-seeded  Russian beat Djokovic for the fifth time in nine encounters and the first since their 2021 US Open final when Medvedev also triumphed 6-4, 6-4.

It was the first defeat of 2023 for Djokovic, who came into the match on a 20-match winning streak.

The Serbian was broken twice in the opening set, breaking Medvedev once, and the world number one was then broken again in the opening game of the second set.

Medvedev, who is making his third appearance in Dubai, has yet to drop a set this week, also defeating Matteo Arnaldi, Alexander Bublik and Borna Coric in the earlier rounds.