Former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev on Thursday crashed out of the Dubai Championships, squandering four match points before losing a bad-tempered quarter-final to Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.
The 47th-ranked Dutchman came through 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-5 as the world No. 6 imploded.
Medvedev, the 2023 champion in Dubai, was handed a code violation for unsportsmanlike behavior after seeing match points slip away in the second set.
Photo: Reuters
As his frustration boiled over, he accused umpire Adel Nour of applying “double standards” with Russian players.
Nour hit back, telling Medvedev that he treats all players in the same way, regardless of nationality, before brushing away the top seed’s complaints.
Griekspoor kept his cool in the deciding set, taking victory on a fourth match point of his own.
Photo: Reuters
Medvedev refused to shake hands with Nour at the end of the match.
The 28-year-old Griekspoor, who saved three match points to see off Roman Safiullin in the first round and then overcame defending champion Ugo Humbert, is to face Stefanos Tsitsipas for a place in the final.
Fourth seed Tsitsipas battled to a 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 6-4 win over Italy’s Matteo Berrettini to reach his first semi-final since July last year.
“I’m super happy with this win,” Griekspoor said. “Daniil is an unbelievable player, an unbelievable competitor. He’s been at the top of the rankings for so many years, so I’m very pleased with this win. I was a little bit lucky on the match points down, and in the second-set tiebreak. I even needed a few match points myself to finish this one off.”
Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime notched up an ATP Tour-leading 15th win of the year, seeing off former US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to reach his fourth semi-final of the year.
“It’s been a great start,” said 21st-ranked Auger-Aliassime, who has already claimed titles in Adelaide, Australia, and Montpellier, France, this year.
Auger-Aliassime is to face French qualifier Quentin Halys, who came back from a set and a break down to defeat Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5).
Halys knocked out ninth-ranked former champion Andrey Rublev in the first round.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
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