Daniil Medvedev finally looks to be back in the swing of things. Incredibly, the six-time Grand Slam finalist hasn’t won a title since the 2023 Rome Masters.
2025 ATP Tour
ATP 500
Dubai Duty Free Championships
Aviation Club Tennis Centre, Dubai, UAE (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Selected Quarterfinals- 27th February
Daniil Medvedev (1) 0.28 vs Tallon Griekspoor 2.6
He looked sluggish in the early part of this season, facing early eliminations at the Aussie and Rotterdam Opens. The surly Russian obliquely hinted at retirement in the wake of that Rotterdam exit. But he has looked better in recent outings, reaching the semifinals in Marseille before illness forced him to withdraw from last week’s event in Qatar. And he seems to have found his best form in Dubai, beating Struff and the dangerous Mpetshi Perricard in straight-sets. I was really impressed with the way he dealt with Mpetshi Perricard in their round of 16 clash. He dominated on serve, winning a tremendous 96% of his first-serve points. And he routinely made inroads on the Frenchman’s humongous delivery, creating ten break-point opportunities with his deep court position and relentless depth. The 2023 Dubai champ has now reached three successive quarterfinals on these courts. He is beginning to purr and will take some stopping.
Nobody saw that one coming. 28-year-old Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor just pulled off one of the upsets of the tournament, ending Ugo Humbert’s six-match winning streak with a efficient 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory. Griekspoor actually out-served the Frenchman, hitting 13 aces to Humbert’s eight. He was extremely aggressive from the baseline (almost taking out the chair umpire with one wayward return). Griekspoor- who always reminds me of Phillip Kolhschreiber- is now into his 2nd quarterfinal of the season (he also reached the last eight in Marseille). Griekspoor doesn’t mind a scrap, playing in an incredible 11 tiebreakers in his last seven matches. He is a gutsy hardcourt specialist with a solid forehand and decent volleying skills. He will probably need to up the aggression further to avoid protracted baseline exchanges with the durable Russian.
The Verdict: Griekspoor to win in three sets at 6.4- This will be their first career meeting. I am just going to take a crazy swing here. Medvedev was excellent against Mpethsi Perricard and will go into this as an overwhelming favourite. But Medvedev does have the odd implosion in him (especially if he isn’t a hundred-percent motivated). Griekspoor played some really solid tennis to down the in-form Humbert. I just have a sneaky feeling that the Dutchman- who served so well against Humbert- could spring a surprise here.
