Jiri Vesely was delighted on Thursday after he upset Novak Djokovic for the second time in his career to reach the semi-finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The World No. 123 has endured a challenging 12 months, but his strong performances this week have given him reason to smile again, with the Czech qualifier ecstatic about his run at the ATP 500 event.

“It’s an unbelievable run,” Vesely said in his post-match press conference. “I will try to do my best to go as far as possible, to maybe try and win the title. You never know. I’ve beaten three amazing players. I had a very tough draw. I never thought I would go that far. I’m really, really happy about it, especially after the past 12 months.

“It’s been a big struggle. I was losing my faith a little bit. It wasn’t easy. This tournament will give me so many positives for the upcoming weeks and months. Hopefully I’m on the right way. I hope to accomplish my goals that I have.”

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The difficulties that Vesely allude to include suffering from Covid last year, before he was involved in a car accident.

Those off-court incidents impacted his on-court performances prior to this week, with the 28-year-old dropping outside the Top 100 at the start of February. Vesely held a 1-5 record on the season before he arrived in Dubai.

“Last year, just before the tournament here in Dubai I was supposed to play, I got Covid. I was quite okay,” Vesely added. “Once I started to train, it was really, really hard to breathe, for me to work, to be able to hit for one hour, two hours. I had these struggles for maybe two months, three months.

“It makes you really frustrated, depressed sometimes because you don’t really know what to do. I was having all the health checks, talked to many doctors. Nobody really knew how long this could take.

“Then after three months, I finally found more energy to work harder again. Suddenly we had a car crash. It was out of tennis for another month. It has been just a very, very tough year with all the problems around. Dropping outside of Top 100 was another sad moment in my career because I’m always trying to go the other way.”

Vesely also upset Djokovic in 2016 in Monte Carlo but struggled to kick on from that result as he found it difficult to adjust to the pressure of the Tour when aged just 22.

However, the Czech believes he is in a better frame of mind to push on now and is hoping his strong run here in Dubai can provide the impetus for him to have further success. His victory over Djokovic also means the Serbian will relinquish his World No. 1 ATP Ranking to Daniil Medvedev on Monday.

“I think maybe that win came too early,” Vesely said reflecting on his 2016 triumph over the Serb. “It was a big win. He was unbeaten in the year at the time. He won in Australia, Indian Wells and Miami. I was 22 years old. It was great to be really successful at that early age, but I think I just wasn’t prepared for that. Maybe now this win can help me much more than it did in Monte Carlo.

“Always when I had to play against lower-ranked guys, I was always struggling with myself. I wasn’t able to beat them. I was always looking at what people thought about me after the defeats. It wasn’t easy. After some time you get used to all the things. Winning and losing is just part of the sport. All this comes with the age I think, with experience.”

Vesely will look to continue his run when he faces Denis Shapovalov in the semi-finals on Friday. It is the first time the World No. 123 has advanced to the last four at a tour-level event since he triumphed in Pune in 2020 for his second ATP Tour crown.

Novak Djokovic will surrender the No. 1 ATP Ranking to Daniil Medvedev next week following his defeat to Jiri Vesely at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday.

However, the Serbian says that he is as hungry as ever to fight for more titles and produce his best tennis in the coming months despite the setback.

“My goal is to keep on playing tennis,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. “That’s the ultimate goal. For as long as I really feel like it and as long as I can play. As long as my body allows me, as long as the circumstances in my life as well, the people that surround me [and] support me.

“I’m still motivated and I’m still pissed off when I lose a match. I care about it. I care about winning every match, as anybody else on the Tour, regardless of the age. I’m actually glad that I’m feeling a lot of emotions every single day because it means that I really want to be part of this sport, part of the Tour.”

The 34-year-old has sat atop the tennis mountain for the past 132 weeks and a record-breaking 361 weeks in total. He was competing in his first tournament of the season in Dubai. The top seed has triumphed at the ATP 500 five times and entered his match against Czech qualifier Vesely off the back of victories against #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti and Russian Karen Khachanov.

But Djokovic was unable to find his best level against the World No. 123, praising the 28-year-old for his aggressive and resolute performance.

“Unfortunately, [it] wasn’t my day,” Djokovic added. “I congratulate Jiri. He played better. He just went for his shots. His serve was big. His whole game was big. When he needed to come up with the good shots, he did, putting a lot of pressure also on my service games. His backhand on this surface where it’s really fast and it stays low is really effective.”

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This season, Djokovic has also seen Spaniard Rafael Nadal overtake him in the Grand Slam race, with the 35-year-old capturing his record-breaking 21st major title at the Australian Open in January. It means Nadal leads the way over Djokovic and Roger Federer, who are both tied on 20 Grand Slam crowns.

Djokovic admitted that while he needs more matches to regain his best level, his body is in good enough shape to continue to compete at the very top.

“The more matches I play, the more comfortable I get on the court,” Djokovic added. “I need the match play. I didn’t have many matches at all last few months.

“I don’t look at the age really as a restricting factor for my career. I still feel great in terms of my body and the way it’s holding on, the way it’s recovering. It’s been serving me well, so to say. That’s something that obviously encourages me to keep going.”

View Full List Players To Hold No. 1 ATP Ranking Here.

World No. 123 Czech Jiri Vesely upset top seed Novak Djokovic in the Dubai quarter-finals Thursday, guaranteeing that the Serb will cede the No. 1 ATP Ranking to Daniil Medvedev on Monday.

After Medvedev reached the quarter-finals at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC on Wednesday, Djokovic knew he had to advance into the last four at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships if he wanted to continue his bid to remain atop tennis’ mountain.

LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE ⚡️ ⚡️@jiri_vesely stuns Djokovic for the 2nd time in his career, ending his reign at No. 1 with a 6-4 7-6 victory! pic.twitter.com/YXVuWHCuxq Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 24, 2022

However, the 34-year-old came up against an inspired Vesely, who played aggressively throughout to stun Djokovic 6-4, 7-6(4) in one hour and 57 minutes.

“It is an amazing feeling,” Vesely said in his on-court interview. “I never really thought I would have a chance against Novak. He is one of the greatest of all time. After the past 12 months, it is unbelievable. I have so many emotions inside. It is hard to describe. It is an amazing feeling.”

The Czech qualifier recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, recomposing himself to prevail in the tie-break under the lights on centre court.

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“Playing against Novak, he is such a great groundstroke player,” Vesely added. “He moves really well. You really have to earn it and fight for every single point. I think I did an amazing job today. I tried to keep the rallies short. Of course Novak had huge support. I love these matches playing against the best players in the world. Having full stadiums is something I have dreamt about my whole life. ”

On Monday, Medvedev will become the third Russian man to reach No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, joining Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1999) and Marat Safin (2000-01). The 25-year-old will also join Andy Murray (2016) as the only first-time World No. 1 since Djokovic first reached top spot in July 2011.

^{Photo Credit: Francois Nel/Getty Images}

The last player outside of the Big Four of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Murray and Rafael Nadal who has held No. 1 was Andy Roddick in February 2004.

“It is great for tennis to have someone new at World No. 1,” Vesely added. “Novak is such a champion, he has been No. 1 for 361 weeks, but tennis needs new World No. 1s and there is a new generation coming up and I think it is great.”

Vesely has now defeated the top seed twice, having won their other meeting in Monte Carlo in 2016. It is the first time the qualifier has reached the semi-finals at a tour-level event since 2020, when he enjoyed a run to the title in Pune.

The 28-year-old, who had never been beyond the first round at the ATP 500 event in three previous appearances, has now earned four Top 10 wins, with his last before he defeated Djokovic coming against then-World No. 5 Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon in 2019.

Vesely moved past Marin Cilic in the first round and then upset Roberto Bautista Agut to set up a match against Djokovic. The two-time tour-level titlist will look to continue his dream run when he faces sixth-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov or Ricardas Berankis in the semi-finals. Vesely held a 1-5 record on the season prior to this week.

Since Djokovic regained his No. 1 status in February 2020 he has won eight tour-level titles, including three Grand Slam crowns and three ATP Masters 1000 trophies. The 34-year-old was competing in his first tournament of the year this week in Dubai.

“I want to thank the crowd for creating a great atmosphere on the court for both players,” Djokovic said. “The crowd were cheering me on but unfortunately it wasn’t my day. He played better. He just went for his shots. His serve was big. His whole game was big. When he needed to come up with the big shots, he did. I expected myself to play at a higher level, but credit to Jiri.”

In other action, Denis Shapovalov overcame Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis 7-6(4), 6-3 to advance into his first semi-final of the season.

The sixth seed fired 14 aces and did not face a break point to triumph after one hour and 32 minutes, improving his ATP Head2Head record against Berankis to 3-1.

The 22-year-old, who is aiming to win his first tour-level title since he triumphed in Stockholm in 2019, is now 11-4 on the season.

Shapovalov helped guide Canada to the ATP Cup title in January, before he enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open. The World No. 14 also reached the last four in Dubai last season, losing to South African Lloyd Harris.

Andrey Rublev extended his winning run to seven matches Thursday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, battling past American Mackenzie McDonald 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event.

The Russian has been in strong form in recent weeks, advancing to the semi-finals in Rotterdam, before he lifted his first tour-level title since March 2021 in Marseille.

In a hard-fought match against the resilient McDonald, Rublev, who reached the last four in Dubai last season, found his range as the clash went on. The second seed crucially saved three break points in the second set, before he stormed to the finish line to advance into the last four at the hard-court tournament again.

“I just tried to keep fighting to see what would happen,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “At 2-2 I managed to break him and then I started to play better and I changed the match. It is a great result and I am looking forward to seeing what happens tomorrow. I am super happy, the most important thing is to keep improving.”

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The World No. 7 has now levelled his ATP Head2Head series against McDonald at 1-1, gaining revenge for his defeat against the 26-year-old at the Australian Open in 2019.

In front of a capacity crowd on centre court, McDonald started with his foot on the pedal, playing aggressively to force Rublev into errors. However, the 24-year-old showed his fighting spirit, finding greater depth and consistency as he broke in the fifth game in the second set to turn the tables, eventually triumphing after one hour and 45 minutes.

Rublev’s reward is a meeting with fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz, with the Pole going into that match with a 2-0 ATP Head2Head series lead over the 24-year-old.

Hurkacz reached his first tour-level semi-final of the season, overcoming Italian Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-3.

The Pole arrived in Dubai having lost in the second round at the Australian Open and in Rotterdam this year. However, this week, Hurkacz has regained the form that saw him capture three trophies last season, including his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami, where he beat Sinner in the final.

The World No. 11, who has yet to drop a set in Dubai, matched Sinner’s intensity and ball striking throughout, winning 82 per cent (23/28) of his first-serve points to advance after 85 minutes.

“I am super pleased with my performance today,” Hurkacz said in his on-court interview. “Jannik is a great friend of mine, he is such a nice guy. He has been doing unbelievably. His game is so good. It is so much fun to play in front of such a great crowd here.”

With his victory, Hurkacz now leads Sinner 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series. It is the eighth time the 25-year-old has reached the last four at a tour-level event but the first at ATP 500 level.

First ATP 500 semi-final!@HubertHurkacz defeats good friend Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-3 to secure his #DDFTennis semi-final spot 🌟 pic.twitter.com/ulYgWAU3vf

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 24, 2022

By defeating World No. 10 and doubles partner Sinner, Hurkacz has also snapped a five-match losing streak against Top 10 players. His last Top 10 win before he downed the Italian came against Roger Federer in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in July.

Sinner was aiming to capture his sixth tour-level title this week, having enjoyed a standout 2021 season when he triumphed four times.

Tickets for the 2022 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals to be held from 8 to 12 November In Milan will go on sale from 24 February. Tickets can be found here on the official ticket website.

The fifth edition of the event will take place at the Allianz Cloud, the state-of-the-art structure in the heart of Milan. The tournament is considered to be the most futuristic event of the season for its innovative formula, the cutting-edge technological innovations and the presence of the best youngsters on Tour.

The tournament is made highly spectacular by the rules that enhance the rhythm, particularly the First-to-4, Best-of-5 Set Matches with No-Ad scoring. Such formula creates a successful mix, revolutionising the usual dynamics on court.

New rules introduced here and confirmed for 2022 include Electronic Line Calling, Video Review and Courtside Coaching opened up from the side-lines at the changeovers. ATP Tour partially adopted those enhancements pioneered in Milan.

Another day, another history-making performance from Rafael Nadal. This time, the history was of the personal variety following a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Stefan Kozlov at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

In his first tournament since winning a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam at the Australian Open, Nadal has improved to a career-best 12-0 start to the new season. Nadal started the 2014 season with 11 straight wins before losing to Stan Wawrinka in the Australian Open final.

After title runs at the Melbourne Summer Set and the Aussie Open, the Spaniard is seeking his third tour-level trophy of the season and the 91st of his legendary career. His path to the title could run through Daniil Medvedev, the man chasing the No. 1 ATP Ranking, should both win one more match and advance to the semi-finals.

After leading, 6-0, 4-1, in Wednesday’s match against Kozlov, Nadal found himself back on serve with his opponent two points from levelling the set.

“A little bit of a strange match,” Nadal assessed. “Kozlov has a different style than most other players, so you need to be very careful. Sometimes you are able to win points in a row, but then if you start to play at his rhythm, it’s very difficult because he has great control from the baseline and he’s very smart.”

Avoiding the sort of marathon match the Acapulco stadium court has become accustomed to in recent days, Nadal won the final seven points of the match to get through to the quarter-finals in just over an hour. The Spaniard was dominant on the return as he converted five of six break chances, winning more than half of his points against Kozlov’s first serve.

“Always it’s important to win as quick as possible,” Nadal added, “but the most important thing is to win. Tonight has been straight sets, that’s great news, and I’ll try to be ready for tomorrow again against a tough opponent.”

After beating Denis Kudla and Kozlov in the opening rounds, Nadal will face another American in Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals. Paul was a 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-5 winner over Dusan Lajovic earlier on Wednesday.

This one goes to 12 💪

For the first time in his career, @RafaelNadal starts a season with 12 consecutive wins, defeating Stefan Kozlov 6-0 6-3 at #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/wFxQ5iP1WG

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 24, 2022

After a pair of dominant wins from Nadal and Medvedev opened play on the Acapulco stadium court, Stefanos Tsitsipas upped the ante with the fastest victory of his career. His 6-1, 6-0 sprint past American J.J. Wolf clocked in at just 47 minutes, the Greek surrendering 16 total points in the contest.

“I would say I was patiently attacking. I wasn’t going for too much, but I also wasn’t going for too little,” the philosophical Greek reflected. “It felt great out there. It felt like I could control the points from both sides of the court and I felt very much in control throughout the entire match.

“I felt like my serve was working when I needed it. I just felt very comfortable with every single stroke and every single decision I had to make.”

He’ll next face another American in Marcos Giron, a 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4) winner over eighth seed Pablo Carreno Busta.

Giron and Paul were the only two American winners out of six in action on Wednesday. Seventh seed Taylor Fritz dropped a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 decision to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, while John Isner fell to sixth seed and newly crowned Delray Beach champion Cameron Norrie, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4.

Nishioka will face Medvedev in the last eight, while Norrie takes on Peter Gojowczyk. All four Acapulco quarter-finals are set for Thursday.

It was a big day for Argentina in neighbouring Chile on Wednesday, with four men bidding to reach the quarter-finals in Santiago. Sebastian Baez and 2021 finalist Facundo Bagnis advanced, the latter beating countryman Juan Ignacio Londero.

Seventh seed Baez opened play at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Londero, eighth seed Bagnis following with a 6-2, 6-2 result against Hugo Dellien.

Baez broke serve seven times in the match and won more than half of his return points against both first and second serves. With 12 games going against serve in total, the match featured more breaks than holds.

“I feel good on the court in this place,” the Buenos Aires native said after the win. “It’s difficult to feel at home, and here in Chile I feel that. That’s something extra for the tournament and for my tennis, and that’s the most important, I think.”

Baez now holds a 24-2 record in Chile at the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour level since the start of 2021, including three Challenger titles.

The 21-year-old advances to his second quarter-final of 2022 (Cordoba), where he’ll face Monteiro. A former junior world No. 1 and a six-time Challenger champion in 2021, Baez is making his second appearance at the Santiago ATP 250 event after qualifying last year. The Argentine is seeking his first ATP Tour final after rising from outside the Top 300 at the start last season to a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 72 earlier this month.

“It’s a second quarter-final [for me], so it’s a new chance to try to be better,” he previewed. “I think it’s a new opportunity to play with another great player and try to do all my best.”

Third seed Fernando Delbonis was on course to set up an all-Argentine quarter-final against Baez, but could not close out his opening match after taking the first set against Thiago Monteiro. Instead, the 27-year-old Brazilian reached his second quarter-final of the season (Adelaide 2) with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 upset.

Bagnis cruised into the quarter-finals as he rounds into form following a slow start to the season. Winless since his opening match of the year against Andy Murray at the Melbourne Summer Set, the 31-year-old has put together two dominant victories on the Chilean clay.

He’s dropped just seven games in reaching his first ATP Tour quarter-final since a run to the Santiago title match one year ago, when he fell to Chile’s Cristian Garin. After facing no break points in an opening-round win against Spain’s Barnabe Zapata Miralles, Bagnis saved one of two in Wednesday’s win over Bolivia’s Dellien. He next faces second seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, a 6-2, 7-6(4) winner over compatriot Carlos Taberner in the Santiago nightcap.