Novak Djokovic failed to advance to the final in Dubai. Novak beat three opponents before falling to Daniil Medvedev for his first loss in 2023. World No. I didn’t think too much about it, enjoying a beautiful day at the beach with his old friends, Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki..
Former Davis Cup teammates and old friends enjoyed a relaxing day in the sun and spent some quality time, as they always do when they meet up in Belgrade or anywhere else. Novak began his 13th campaign in Dubai with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win over young Czech Tomas Machac.
Machac rallied in the second set and claimed it with an early break. Novak advanced 4-1 in the final set before Tomas recovered the break and extended the battle. He went into a deciding tiebreaker, and Djokovic clinched it 7-1 to seal the deal in his first match after his 22nd Grand Slam title in Melbourne.
Novak faced Tallon Griekspoor in the second round and won 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 22 minutes for a place in the last eight.
Novak Djokovic stayed in Dubai after the semifinal loss.
Novak broke serve once while serving for the win and converted half of the return points on four breaks in 16 chances.
Djokovic faced Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals and scored a 6-3, 7-5 victory in one hour and 21 minutes. The Serb defeated the Pole for the fifth time in as many meetings, never facing a break point and stole twice to enter the final four for the tenth time in Dubai.
Djokovic broke in the fourth game of the opener on his third break chance and served well for 6-3 in 35 minutes. They were neck to neck until 5-5 in the second set. The Pole struggled to find free points on his serve and faced break points in game 11.
He defended four before Novak converted the fifth to open a 6-5 lead and serve for the win. Djokovic stayed in love in game 12 to seal the deal in style. Novak’s perfect start to the season ended in the semi-final following a 6-4, 6-4 loss to an in-form Daniil Medvedev..
The Serb created just one break point in the entire clash and was broken three times to propel the Russian over the top. Medvedev grabbed two straight breaks in the opener, carving out a 5-2 lead and holding on in the tenth game at 6-4.
Daniil broke again at the start of the second set and produced five holds without facing a break point to emerge on top and advance to the final. Novak will spend more time off the court in the coming weeks, barred from the US and preparing to return to clay in Monte Carlo.
