Even by his own high standards, Andrey Rublev is enjoying the month of his life.

The Russian produced one of the performances of the season to surge to the title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, ending Jiri Vesely’s dream run in the desert with a 6-3, 6-4 win in Saturday’s championship match.

The 80-minute victory made it 13 matches won in a row for Rublev across singles and doubles, after the Russian won both titles in Marseille before his run in Dubai.

The No. 123-ranked Vesely was bidding to become the first qualifier to win the Dubai title, but he was unable to recreate the heroics from his stirring victories over Doha champion Roberto Bautista Agut, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Denis Shapovalov that earned him a spot in the final.

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Having battled through tough three-setters in his previous three matches, Rublev looked to have no intention of working overtime again in the final. He raced out the blocks, breaking Vesely in the fourth game, and did not drop a point behind his first serve as he charged to the first set.

There appeared to be little Vesely could do as the World No. 7 continued to produce a stunning level in the second set. Rublev broke in the opening game, but the Czech showed real fight to reclaim it for 3-3, pumping up the delighted crowd as he tried to get back into the match.

Rublev responded by knocking the wind out of the Vesely resistance, immediately breaking again and going on to seal a comfortable victory as two-time ATP Tour title-winner Vesely struggled to cope with the Russian’s combination of power and consistency. Rublev ended the match with 28 winners to Vesely’s 21, and only struck eight unforced errors as he dominated from the baseline.

The win means Rublev’s semi-final defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime in Rotterdam was his only singles loss across three tournaments in February. The Dubai title is the Russian’s 10th on the ATP Tour and extends his match record in 2022 to 10-2.

Tim Puetz and Michael Venus are the Match Tie-break kings of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The fourth seeds completed a full week of final-set victories on Saturday to win the ATP 500 event in Dubai. and they saved the best until last, saving three match points before securing a dramatic 6-3, 6-7(5), 16-14 win over top-ranked Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.

Puetz and Venus had recovered from dropping the first set in all three of their matches on the way to the final, but they converted the only break point of the opener to take control early in the championship match.

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Top-seeded Mektic and Pavic were runners-up in Dubai in 2021 and gave themselves a chance to go one better this year as they struck back to take the second set, leaving it to a mammoth Match Tie-break to separate the two teams.

It was Puetz and Venus that held their nerve to snatch victory, converting their fourth match point as the New Zealander tucked away a forehand volley to clinch the pair’s third ATP Tour title.

Taking the glory 🏆

Michael Venus and Tim Puetz are victorious in Dubai, winning 6-3 6-7 16-14 against Mektic and Pavic to claim the title!#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/lqGVbRKuID

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 26, 2022

Staying solid on serve proved key to victory for Puetz and Venus, as they fired 11 aces and remained unbroken to leave Mektic and Pavic still searching for their first title in 2022.

The title was Venus’ second in Dubai, the World No. 14 also having lifted the trophy in 2020 with John Peers, while Puetz was making his debut at the event.

In a much-anticipated rematch of their 2022 Australian Open five-setter, Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev served up another epic on Friday in the Acapulco semi-finals.

Nadal again came out on top, with the 6-3, 6-3 scoreline hiding the drama that unfolded over the course of two hours at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

If the Aussie Open final was a tale of two halves, so too was this one. Only Nadal won both in Mexico.

After a dominant opening set, the Spaniard saved 11 break points across two consecutive service games to hang on to an early lead in the second. With the win, he improves to 14-0 on the season, extending his career-best start.

“I played some amazing points on the break points,” said Nadal, who noted that the high bounce on the stadium court helped his game. “The second set was very emotional. Daniil was playing very aggressive — drop shots, winners. It was a very difficult set. I feel lucky to win that set because he had a lot of chances.”

Nadal picked up where he left off in Melbourne with a classy start, controlling the baseline and putting Medvedev under pressure in each of the Russian’s first three service games. Sensing Nadal’s dominance, the top seed mixed up his game with drop shots and serve-and-volley tactics, doing well to stay within touching distance.

After breaking in the fourth game, Nadal escaped 0/30 to open up a 4-1 lead. Medvedev got another look at 5-3, 30/30, but found himself a set down after two bad misses. 

Things started to spiral for the soon-to-be World No. 1, as a loose opening service game handed one of the game’s all-time frontrunners another lead.

But against the run of play, Medvedev nearly levelled as he created four break chances at 2-1. While he didn’t get the break, he got himself firmly back in contention when it looked like Nadal was set to pull away.

That epic six-deuce game was trumped by a nine-deuce game at 3-2. An incredible seven break points came and went as Nadal was sensational with his back against the wall. He survived in style as he went through his full arsenal, saving break points with equal parts aggression and patience, frequently closing points at the net following punishing serves and forehands.

With the win Nadal, improves to 5-1 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series. 

Nadal is a three-time champion in Acapulco (2005, 2013, 2020), with his first two titles coming when the event was still played on clay. He improves to 24-2 at the ATP 500 event, and has now won 18 sets in a row dating back to his 2020 triumph.

One winning streak will end in Saturday’s final, as Nadal puts his 14-match run on the line against Cameron Norries eight. Nadal leads that head-to-head 3-0, winning all three in straight sets in the 2021 season (Australian Open, Barcelona, Roland Garros).

“His level of tennis is huge. He improved a lot at the beginning of last year, and this year he continues,” Nadal said of his final opponent, who knocked off third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-4, 6-4, earlier on Friday.

“It’s going to be a big challenge, but we are in the final of a 500 here in Acapulco, so cant expect an easy opponent. I’m excited about being in the final.”

In humid Acapulco, a red-hot Cameron Norrie cooled the streaking Stefanos Tsitsipas in a battle of two of the in-form players on the ATP Tour.

Great Britain’s Norrie, champion a week ago in Delray Beach, extended his win streak to eight straight matches with an efficient 6-4, 6-4 semi-final win over the World No. 4. Tsitsipas, a finalist in Rotterdam earlier this month, had not dropped a set at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC until Friday’s contest.

In each of the two very similar sets, Norrie scored a break in the ninth game and then coolly served it out. Match point was emblematic of the match as a whole: Tsitsipas was unable to hurt his rock-steady opponent despite repeated baseline attacks, the Greek ultimately netting to send Norrie into his ninth ATP Tour final and eighth in the past two seasons.

“In general, [I hit] my forehand very loopy, my backhand very flat,” Norrie said of his tactics and variety in the one-hour, 18-minute match. “I was able to dictate play to his backhand and defend my forehand quite well. I definitely felt that better in the second set, and I think my game is pretty good in these conditions.”

The streak hits 🎱 @cam_norrie notches his 8th consecutive win, 6-4 6-4 over Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the Acapulco final. #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/cSVvZVbrXm

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 26, 2022

The World No. 12 faced just one break point in the match, in the sixth game of the second set, but a Tsitsipas error ended the threat. Norrie created his only break chances in the two aforementioned games, but converted both times on a total of three break points.

He made a sublime 92 percent of his first serves in the opening set to keep the pressure off, but relied more on his baseline game behind a 57 per cent first-serve rate in set two.

“[My serve] really got me into the match and I was able to relax and was able to execute on the big points,” Norrie said, admitting to some early nerves on the stadium court.

He now awaits the winner of the showdown between soon-to-be World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. The Briton said he’s “got the popcorn ready” as he looks forward to watching the Australian Open final rematch.

Norrie will be playing for his fourth ATP Tour title on Saturday, with his first coming in Los Cabos and his biggest in Indian Wells, both in 2021.

With an opportunity to close out the Golden Swing with a second February title, Albert Ramos-Vinolas marched on to the Santiago semi-finals with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis on Thursday.

The Spanish second seed reached the Cordoba final without dropping a set to start the month, and has now won four straight sets at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open to reach the last four. Ramos-Vinolas won a three-set final against Alejandro Tabilo in Cordoba, and a Santiago championship rematch is still on the cards after the Chilean’s 6-1, 6-4 result over Miomir Kecmanovic.

In a lefty vs. lefty matchup against Bagnis, Ramos-Vinolas fell behind 5-2 in the opening set before winning 11 of the last 13 games.

“He was playing better than me,” the Spaniard said of those first seven games. “I think from that moment I started to play really good, then the match changed a little bit. I’m really happy with my performance after the 5-2 start.”

Bagnis saved three break points to start the second set with a hold, but was broken in each of his next three service games as Ramos-Vinolas again finished with a flourish. He now holds a 4-0 ATP Head2Head record against the Argentine.

“I’m playing well. I’ve had a good swing in South America,” said the 34-year-old, who improved to 8-2 on the month. “After winning in Cordoba, it was not easy for me because here the conditions are changing a lot.”

Ramos-Vinolas will next face seventh seed Sebastian Baez, who won the only three-setter of the day, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, over Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro.

The opposite semi-final will see home favourite Tabilo take on Spain’s Pedro Martinez after the Spaniard’s 6-2, 6-2 victory over Yannick Hanfmann. It’s a second ATP Tour semi-final for Martinez, who reached the Kitzbuhel final in July.

“Today I felt really good on the court from the beginning,” said the fourth seed. “I was feeling comfortable, didn’t miss many balls. I was moving well, trying to make him play every point, and that’s what I did from the beginning until the end.

“I think I played a really good match and I will keep going like this for tomorrow.”

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic have the chance to put things right at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday.

The Croatians agonisingly lost out to Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in two tie-breaks in the 2021 final, but the top pairing in the ATP Rankings has another shot at lifting the trophy in the U.A.E after coming through a stern semi-final test against John Peers and Filip Polasek on Friday.

Mektic and Pavic were forced to stay cool under pressure as they saved all five break points they faced in their 6-4, 7-5 victory, winning 80 per cent (32/40) of points behind their first serves in the match.

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Standing between them and a first ATP Tour title of 2022 in Saturday’s final will be fourth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus, after they came through a Match Tie-break against American-French duo Austin Krajicek and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 5-7, 6-3, 10-7.

Rolex Paris Masters champions Puetz and Venus are seeking their first win over Mektic and Pavic, who won the only previous meeting between the teams in Vienna last year.

No Play On The Santiago Clay
There was no doubles action at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open on Friday as both spots in the championship match were set by walkovers. Top-seeded Brazilian pairing Rafael Matos and Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves will face Swedish-American pairing Andre Goransson and Nathaniel Lammons in Saturday’s final, after their respective opponents both withdrew from the semi-finals.

The Jiri Vesely title charge shows no sign of abating in Dubai.

The Czech qualifier backed up his stunning quarter-final win over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic with another Top 20 victory on Friday, outlasting Denis Shapovalov in a three-hour, 12-minute epic to reach the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 7-6(3) victory.

“I think I’m having a dream run here so far,” said Vesely after the win. “I was just trying my best to really enjoy it as much as possible. It was my first ATP 500 semi-final and the only way to get through is just fight until the last point, and I’m very happy.”

Despite at times lacking some of the consistency that took him past Djokovic, Vesely continued to strike his groundstrokes powerfully throughout against the World No. 14 Shapovalov and now looks to claim a third ATP Tour title against Andrey Rublev on Saturday.

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At No. 123 in the ATP Rankings, Vesely was the lowest-ranked semi-finalist in the 30-year history of the Dubai event, but the Czech showed no signs of being overwhelmed as he won the first eight points of the match on his way to an early 3-0 lead.

In the pair’s first tour-level meeting, Shapovalov began to adjust to the clean, flat hitting of his opponent and the Canadian’s slow start did not prove costly. The 2022 ATP Cup winner found his rhythm to reclaim the break and then convert his second set point to clinch an absorbing tie-break.

Vesely reacted well to dropping his first set since the final round of qualifying, not allowing his 22-year-old opponent to get away. The Czech began to approach the net more regularly and, although Shapovalov fended off the only break point of the set, Vesely was not to be denied as he upped his level to take the second set tie-break and level the match.

A third set full of twists saw both players recover from 0/40 on their own serve before the match headed to a third tie-break. Vesely once again chose the crucial moments to produce his best, opening up a 4/1 lead that proved too big a deficit for Shapovalov to recover.

The Czech’s success was again based on an explosive serving performance. He ended with 15 aces and won 80 per cent (48/60) of points behind his first delivery overall.

Vesely admitted he had not seen his run to the final in Dubai coming. “Sometimes things happen, you don’t even know why,” he said. “I was pretty much down, the last couple of months, and suddenly this happens.

“Sometimes it happens so quick, and the only thing to do is stay patient, work hard every day and just wait for your chances.”

The Czech, who reached a career-high ranking of 35 in 2015, now faces a first ATP Head2Head meeting with second seed Andrey Rublev in Saturday’s championship match after the Russian defeated Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) earlier on Friday.

American Reilly Opelka has continued to rise up the ATP Rankings in the past two years, winning tour-level titles in Delray Beach and Dallas in that time.

A crucial factor behind the 24-year-old’s success has been his thunderous serve and powerful groundstrokes. Luckily, having joined TopCourt, the World No. 18 shares the key to his standout serve and brutal forehand with fans, while discussing how world-renowned coach Tom Gullickson helped his development.

Technique: Standing at 6’11”, Opelka possesses one of the biggest serves on Tour. The American shares the key aspects of his serve that will help you improve yours, discussing his grip change and more. The 24-year-old also shows fans the factors behind what makes his forehand such a powerful weapon.

Drills: In his TopCourt class, Opelka teaches three of his favourite drills that emphasise movement, shot placement, and on-court reaction. His ‘Catch and Release’ drill is one that will improve your movement, preparation and strength from the baseline, leading to more consistency and greater weight of shot.

Follow Opelka’s Tutorials at TopCourt.com.