Breaking the one-city-one-title curse! Medvedev clinches his 23rd career title in Dubai!

On February 28, Beijing time, Daniil Medvedev, the No. 3 seed at the 2026 ATP 500 Dubai tournament, announced on his personal social media that he won the championship by walkover after his final opponent, Tallon Griekspoor, withdrew due to injury. "This is not the way I wanted to win the final. I hope Griekspoor's injury is not serious and that he recovers soon," he wrote in the post.

Daniil Medvedev

This marks Medvedev's 23rd career singles title and his second trophy of the season (following Brisbane). It is also his first time winning the same tournament twice (2023, 2026), as his previous 22 titles all came from different events. Medvedev was in strong form throughout the tournament, not dropping a set in his first four matches and requiring only 4 hours and 38 minutes of total court time to secure the title. With the 500 ranking points and $619,160 in prize money, Medvedev's live ranking remains at No. 11, but he has narrowed the gap to No. 10 Alexander Bublik to just 45 points, putting him in contention to return to the Top 10 during the Sunshine Double.

This week, Griekspoor advanced by defeating No. 2 seed Alexander Bublik and No. 6 seed Jakub Mensik, and yesterday he beat No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the semifinals, reaching the final with an impressive streak of victories over three Top 20 players. However, after yesterday's match, he revealed he was not in optimal physical condition: "I don't even know how I got through that match. After the first set, I could barely walk... I got a bit lucky in the tiebreak, so I won in two sets. I felt some discomfort in my hamstring when I landed after a serve."

Medvedev's Path to the Title

First Round: 6-1, 6-3 vs. Jerry Shang [P]

Second Round: 6-2, 6-3 vs. Stan Wawrinka [W]

Quarterfinal: 6-2, 6-1 vs. Jenson Brooksby

Semifinal: 6-4, 6-2 vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime [1]

Final: W/O vs. Tallon Griekspoor

The men's doubles final proceeded as scheduled, with the No. 3 seeds Harri Heliovaara and John-Patrick Smith defeating the No. 2 seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 7-5, 7-5. The pair triumphed over the top two seeded teams en route to the title, and the two players will share 500 ranking points and $203,390 in prize money.

(Text/Editor: Dato, Photo: Visual China Group)