Daniil Medvedev wins title in Dubai after Tallon Griekspoor withdraws from final

Third seed and world No 11 Medvedev has been in impressive form in Dubai this year and was set to face the unseeded Tallon Griekspoor in the final of the ATP 500 event on Saturday, twelve months after meeting at the quarter-final stage of the event.

Griekspoor had stunned Medvedev in three sets on that occasion during a surprise run to the semi-final, and the Dutchman has again defied the odds in Dubai this week.

The world No 25 had beaten second seed Alexander Bublik, sixth seed Jakub Mensik, and fifth seed Andrey Rublev to reach the final in Dubai, though he was notably struggling physically during his semi-final on Friday.

And, the 29-year-old has now unfortunately had to pull out of Saturdayâ™s final due to injury â” automatically handing the title to Medvedev.

Medvedev has now won 23 ATP Tour singles titles and has lifted the Dubai title for the second time, after his previous victory in 2023.

It is the first time that the former world No 1 has ever repeated as a champion at any event, bringing a historic streak of 22 titles at 22 different events to an end.

Having earned 100 ranking points for his quarter-final finish twelve months ago, the Russian's ranking points tally will increase by 400 points on Monday, rising from 2,960 to a total of 3,360.

Medvedev will remain as the world No 11, though he is now within touching distance of a return to the top 10.

For his run to the final, Griekspoor has earned 330 ranking points, up from the 200 points earned for reaching the semi-final of the event last year.

That sees the Dutchman rise from 1,665 points to 1,785 points, and he is currently projected to remain as the world No 25 next Monday.

READ MORE: Teenage star Victoria Mboko told 'sky's the limit' ahead of Indian Wells debut