Daniil Medvedev handed Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title as Tallon Griekspoor pulls out hours before final
ATPSaturday, 28 February 2026 at 15:23
Daniil Medvedev has been crowned as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships without even hitting a ball. This comes after Tallon Griekspoor withdrew from competing in the upcoming final after suffering an injury in yesterday's semi-final against Andrey Rublev.
At the end of the first set, the Dutchman took a medical timeout after feeling some pain in his leg after serving. He soldiered on to win the first set. Contemplating whether to continue or retire, he decided to plough on and went on to save two set points against the 2022 champion enroute to winning a tiebreak 8-6 to book his spot in the final.
He was set to play Medvedev who was the big favourite to take glory after defeating the number one seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in a terrific performance. However, he is set to be handed the title after injury has ruled Griekspoor in competing for a maiden ATP 500 title and fourth ATP title.
"Not how I want to win a final. Hoping the injury for @Griekspoor is not too bad and wishing him a speedy recovery," Medvedev wrote on X shortly after confirmation of the withdrawal from his opponent.
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It is a second title of the year for the Russian following on from his success in the Brisbane International. He described his fondness of the fast courts regularly as he powered his way past all his competitors, not dropping a set.
His 23rd title also marks the first time that he has won in the same city multiple times, breaking the bizarre record previously held. The 30-year-old will now make the trip over to California to compete in the upcoming Indian Wells Open, the first of a brace of Masters 1000 tournaments kicking off the Sunshine Swing as he looks for more success with the motive to climb back into the top 10 in the world.
"Of course I wanted to play the final, but it is what it is"
It was not the way Medvedev wanted to win the title who was sympathetic towards his opponent. "Of course unfortunate, but Tallon, I could see yesterday that maybe he had an injury. You never know how these injuries develop through the night. Sometimes they get easier and you can play, like with some soreness. Sometimes they get worse, so I guess it got worse," Medvedev told the ATP.
"I cannot do anything about it, I played a great tournament, the four matches I played. Of course I wanted to play the final, but it is what it is. I played an unbelievable match yesterday, so I would, either way, take it as a final for me and I'm happy to win the tournament."
Daniil Medvedev is the 2026 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships winner
His form this week has been like watching Medvedev of a couple years ago when he was regularly reaching big finals and winning titles. His 21st hardcourt title will put him in good stead ahead of Indian Wells but the Russian is set to stay complacent and not get ahead of himself.
"Of course [I take] a lot of confidence. But tennis is a very fast-going sport, so one week you can play not the way you want and the other week you're playing amazing," he commented. "So I just hope to bring this confidence from the four matches I played into Indian Wells, for sure. I played unreal the whole week, so I was actually really looking forward to the final and trying to play even better than I did. But it is what it is and I'm really happy with how the week turned out in general."
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