Medvedev Cruises Into Dubai Semi-finals

Daniil Medvedev is the defending champion in Dubai - AFP
Daniil Medvedev is the defending champion in Dubai - AFP
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Medvedev Cruises Into Dubai Semi-finals

Daniil Medvedev is the defending champion in Dubai - AFP
Daniil Medvedev is the defending champion in Dubai - AFP

Daniil Medvedev raced to victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Thursday to reach the Dubai semi-finals and continue his excellent start to the year.

The world number four wasted little time in wrapping up a 6-2, 6-3 win and will face Ugo Humbert in the last four.

"Alejandro can play very well," Medvedev said. "Sometimes during matches he can have a little down moment and then he goes up.

"I knew that no matter the score, I needed to go until the last point."

The Russian is playing in just his second tournament of the season after reaching the Australian Open final, where he suffered an agonising defeat by Jannik Sinner after leading by two sets.

Reigning champion Medvedev is bidding to defend an ATP title for the first time, having won 20 trophies at Tour-level events in his career but all at different tournaments.

Medvedev eased through the opening set with breaks in the sixth and eighth games, AFP reported.

He powered into a 4-0 lead in the second and sealed victory on his first match point, despite a brief rally from Davidovich Fokina, who has now lost all four of his meetings with Medvedev.

Medvedev had to come from a set down against Lorenzo Sonego in the previous round, but said he may have been struggling with an illness.

"I don't know what happened yesterday. A few people around me got a small virus, so maybe it is this," he said.

"Some days that happens but I am happy today happened. I am not at my best shape yet but we have some more matches."

Fifth-seeded Humbert of France saved three match points in the second-set tie-break on his way to a 3-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-3 victory against third seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.

Humbert, who hit 24 winners, had also defeated Hurkacz en route to the title in Marseille earlier this month.

Alexander Bublik and Andrey Rublev will meet in the other semi-final after both were beneficiaries of retirements in their last-eight matches.

Kazakhstan's Bublik led 6-4, 4-1 when his opponent Jiri Lehecka quit their tie with injury.

Second seed Rublev was 6-4, 4-3 ahead when American Sebastian Korda left the court in the second quarter-final.

The win ended a run of three successive quarter-final exits for world number five Rublev.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.