Daniil Medvedev has beaten Novak Djokovic five times in 14 meetings. Curiously, the Russian scored all five wins when the Serb was number one in the world. 1. Thus, Medvedev joined an exclusive list of players with five wins over world no.
1 Djokovic, joining Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer
. Novak became number one in the world. 1 in July 2011 after winning Wimbledon, and beating him while on top has always been a challenge. Nadal scored ten wins over his as no.
1, and Andy Murray and Roger Federer each added five. Medvedev has now matched Federer and Murray, with a good chance of passing him if he maintains this level for the rest of the year. Daniil defeated Novak 6-4, 6-4 in the Dubai semi-final, causing the Serb’s first defeat of 2023.
Djokovic reached the semifinal on a 20-match winning streak. However, Medvedev ended the rival’s streak and achieved his 13th straight victory. Djokovic praised Medvedev, calling him the best opponent in both sets. Novak made too many mistakes at crucial moments, unable to push the opponent to the limit on the return and was broken three times.
Medvedev hit 20 winners and 12 unforced errors, tamed his shots well and carved out the lead in later exchanges. Djokovic took just two points less than his rival, but those three breaks were too much to overcome.
Novak stayed level in the first game of the match with a game-winning volley, and Daniil closed out the result at 1-1 with a service winner. world no. 1 lost ground at 2-2, wasting a game point and missing an extended play after scoring a cut to lose serve.
Medvedev fired a service winner in the sixth game to confirm the break. He grabbed another game return after Djokovic’s volley error in game seven to open a 5-2 gap. The Serb pulled back a break in game eight to extend the set and fell for a serve winner to cut the deficit to 5-4.
Daniil Medvedev has beaten world no. 1 Novak Djokovic five times.
Daniil rallied from 30-15 down in the tenth game and closed the set with a forehand winner for 6-4 in 39 minutes. Djokovic experienced another setback early in the second set, blowing a 40-15 lead and dropping four points in a row to find a set and a break.
Medvedev kept the tie in the second game and closed the fourth game after two 3-1. Novak clinched game five after deuces, doing his best to stay in touch and hoping for more chances on the return. Instead, Daniil clinched game six after the deuce and opened a 5-3 gap with an ace two games later.
Novak served to stay in the match in game nine and shut it out after two to extend the battle. The Russian served for the win at 5-4 and earned a match point after a touch-winning drop shot into the net. Medvedev capitalized on it with a forehand winner to deliver his fifth win over Djokovic and move on to the final.
