A meeting between fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz and 2017 champion Andy Murray headlines the first-round action at next week’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev lead the field at the hard-court ATP 500.

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Both Hurkacz and Murray will arrive in Dubai off the back of deep runs at ATP 250 level in the past week. The World No. 11 Hurkacz plays his semi-final in Marseille on Saturday, with former World No. 1 Murray due on court in the Doha championship match against Medvedev shortly after.

Hurkacz leads Murray 2-1 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series, but the pair has not played since 2021. Should the winner of the Dubai clash go on to reach the quarter-finals, they could face top seed Djokovic.

The Serbian has been drawn to play a qualifier in his first match since lifting a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title at January’s Australian Open. Djokovic, a five-time champion in Dubai, would face Tallon Griekspoor or Constant Lestienne in the second round if he prevails in his opener.

Third seed Medvedev is a potential semi-final rival for all of Djokovic, Hurkacz and Murray. The Rotterdam champion leads the second quarter of the draw in Dubai, where he also opens against a qualifier. Medvedev’s quarter-final opponent could be the winner of a first-round matchup between eighth seed Borna Coric and Daniel Evans.

In the bottom half of the draw, Rublev begins his title defence against Filip Krajinovic, with Karen Khachanov a potential quarter-final challenger for the second seed. The 25-year-old Rublev will be playing for his sixth ATP 500 crown.

A stacked third quarter offers plenty of intriguing first-round matchups, including fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime taking on the serve-and-volley game of Maxime Cressy. Seventh seed Alexander Zverev meets the fast-rising 21-year-old Jiri Lehecka, with the winner guaranteed to face a big-serving threat in the second round from Marc-Andrea Huesler or Lorenzo Sonego.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz extended his perfect record in 2023 to 7-0 after a fighting 6-4, 7-6(0) win over Serbian Dusan Lajovic to advance to the semi-finals of the Rio Open presented by Claro on Friday.

The 19-year-old Spaniard rallied from 2-4 in both the first and second sets before putting away the World No. 80 for the second time in as many weeks, having beaten the 29-year-old 6-4, 6-2 in the Buenos Aires quarter-finals.

Despite clubbing 32 winners to Lajovic’s 13 and winning 16 of 17 net approaches, Alcaraz will not be entirely happy with his performance after forcing himself to work harder than perhaps needed for victory. In addition to going down breaks in both sets and making 25 unforced errors, the Spaniard was broken at 5-all in the second despite holding a 40/0 lead in the game.

The former World No. 1 was forced to save a set point with some inspired play at net in the following game before running away with the win in the tie-break.

“That’s the point… to find a way to come back against a tough opponent,” Alcaraz said. “I had to be really focussed and be there all the time waiting for my chances.”

Closing in on back-to-back titles after triumphing in Buenos Aires last week in his season debut, the World No. 2 will meet the winner of Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry and sixth-seeded Argentine Sebastian Baez on Saturday.

Should he win his eighth tour-level title Sunday, Alcaraz will join World No. 1 Novak Djokovic with 7,070 points in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. But the 10-time Australian Open champion will remain atop the rankings because he has earned more points at mandatory events during the past 52 weeks.

Earlier in the day second seed Cameron Norrie kept alive the possibility of a final showdown with Alcaraz for the second consecutive week after he rallied from a set down to defeat Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. But he will be looking for a sharper start Saturday against Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles, who reached his second consecutive semi-final after taking out countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

“I didn’t start too well, was missing a lot of returns and not making points physical like I wanted to,” Norrie said. “[After the first set] I needed to be patient with myself. I’m not sure what happened but I didn’t make a lot of returns and missed a couple of first balls on my serve, which is uncharacteristic. I just hung in there and stepped it up when I needed to.”

The Briton had a mixed day on serve. He won a commanding 84 per cent of points on his first serve but had trouble at times with his toss and threw in seven double faults, including two on match points in the final game of the match.

”I felt I hit my spots better than I did yesterday,” Norrie said. “I had a couple of double faults but he was really putting a lot of pressure on my second and maybe I went after it a little too much. But I’m not worried about it. I just need to come out a little stronger tomorrow and make it more physical like I did in Thiago in the second round.”

The rapid rise of Arthur Fils continued unabated Friday at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille. The #NextGenATP Frenchman dispatched former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3 at the indoor hard-court event to reach his second consecutive ATP Tour semi-final.

Fils’ converted four of 12 break points in his dominant 66-minute victory to underline his status as one of the breakout stars of 2023 so far. The 18-year-old is 5-1 on the ATP Tour after reaching the semi-finals in Montpellier and now in Marseille. He also began the season by going 9-1 on the ATP Challenger Tour.

In a dominant quarter-final performance, Fils dropped just one point behind his first serve against Wawrinka, who struggled to find his best form after coming through tough-three-setters against Zizou Bergs and Richard Gasquet in his opening two rounds.

The home wild card Fils later admitted that it felt slightly surreal to defeat a three-time Grand Slam champion, for whom he served as a hitting partner just under four months ago at November’s Rolex Paris Masters. Fils made his ATP Tour main draw debut as a qualifier at that event, where he pushed Fabio Fognini to three sets in the first round.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Fils. “I was watching him [Wawrinka] play during all my young career. I was hitting in Bercy with him as a sparring partner, and now I beat him. It’s a long way, a long way for my coach and my family, but it’s not over yet and I want to enjoy more.”

Arthur with an arrow 🏹@Open13 | #open13provence | @ArthurFils1 pic.twitter.com/3cFBuvqjMZ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 24, 2023

Fils only registered his maiden ATP Tour victory 18 days ago. Now a two-time semi-finalst, the 18-year-old has already demonstrated his ability to consistently compete against some of the best players on Tour.

“[My progress is] fast, but I can be faster, so I will try to be,” said Fils of his rapid rise. “I will try to enjoy every moment on the court, as I did today, and I’m very happy with the crowd and everything.”

Fils’ run in Marseille so far has lifted the Frenchman 14 spots to No. 104 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Should he defeat his fellow Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in Saturday’s semi-finals, Fils will break the Top 100 for the first time.

Bonzi booked his own spot in the final by upsetting third seed Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-4 in the final match of the day in Marseille. The 26-year-old broke his Australian opponent’s serve four times in a one-hour, 40-minute win, just his second against a Top 25 opponent in 11 attempts.

The World No. 60 Bonzi will be bidding to reach his second ATP Tour final when he steps on court against Fils. He also reached the championship match in Pune in January, when he fell in three sets to Tallon Griekspoor.

After the ATP singles stars made their 2023 predictions, the world’s best doubles teams sat down to make their picks for the year.

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury have been a consistent force at the top of the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Rankings, but have never finished as the year-end No. 1 duo. However, they were a popular pick to claim the honour in 2023, with Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah and Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic among the teams to choose the American-British pair.

“Salisbury and Ram because they have been playing well the past two years,” Farah said.

When asked to pick which team would win the most ATP Masters 1000 titles, Lloyd Glasspool/Harri Heliovaara and Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski were among the teams that jokingly picked themselves before locking in on Mektic and Pavic.

“They have always been a great team, making it to the final at [the] Nitto ATP Finals in Turin [last year],” Koolhof said.

When it came to the breakthrough team of the season, Julian Cash and Henry Patten were a popular pick, with four teams choosing the Brits. Cash and Patten enjoyed a standout 2022, winning 10 ATP Challenger Tour titles.

“They are very good players. They are new on the Tour this year,” Glasspool said.

Koolhof and Skupski won seven tour-level titles last year, but were unable to capture a Grand Slam. Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer were one of the teams confident the Dutch-British team will achieve that feat in 2023.

Hubert Hurkacz and Alexander Bublik both came back from the brink Friday to reach the semi-finals at the Open 13 Provence after an afternoon of dramatic quarter-final action in Marseille.

The top-seeded Hurkacz saved a Mikael Ymer match point at 5/6 in the deciding-set tie-break en route to a hard-earned 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6) victory at the indoor ATP 250 in southern France. The Pole, who saved six of nine break points he faced in his two-hour, 50-minute win, reeled off three points in a row to prevail and reach his maiden Marseille semi-final on his third appearance at the event.

“I’m just really happy with the victory today,” said Hurkacz post-match. “Mikael is a beautiful player, an amazing competitor and it could have gone either way. Those matches mean a lot if you’re able to come through them. I’m just really pumped and happy to be in the semi-finals.”

What a v😱lley!@Open13 | #open13provence | @HubertHurkacz pic.twitter.com/XFpvFM7JRP

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 24, 2023

The World No. 11 Hurkacz is now 8-4 for the 2023 season. The Pole is this week chasing his sixth ATP Tour title, and his first since his triumph on the grass in Halle last June.

Hurkacz’s semi-final opponent, Alexander Bublik, also rallied to victory in a deciding-set tie-break on Friday. The Kazakhstani trailed fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov 4/6 but prevailed 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(6) to reach the semi-finals in Marseille for the second time.

Both Bublik and Dimitrov converted two of three break points as a tight quarter-final contest went the distance. It was the 25-year-old Bublik who came good late on, however, as he reached his first tour-level semi-final since Metz last September in dramatic fashion.

Bublik had not won an ATP Tour match in 2023 prior to this week, but the World No. 50 has defeated Filip Krajinovic, Gregoire Barrere and now Dimitrov in France to kick-start his season. However, he will have to snap a four-match losing streak in his ATP Head2Head series against Hurkacz in Saturday’s semi-finals should he wish to proceed further in Marseille.

There was an element of déjà vu in the air on Friday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where Daniil Medevedev defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets for the second week in a row to reach the final at the hard-court ATP 250.

Seven days after Medvedev secured quarter-final victory against Auger-Aliassime in Rotterdam, the 27-year-old delivered another rock-solid performance to prevail 6-4, 7-6(7) in the Doha semi-finals. Auger-Aliassime ensured a closer contest this time around by reclaiming early breaks in both sets, but he could not match Medvedev’s consistency at crucial moments in the one-hour, 57-minute clash.

Medvedev saved three set points in the second-set tie-break before converting his first match point to complete a win in which he won 77 per cent (37/48) of points behind his first serve. He also struck just eight unforced errors across the two sets, compared to 26 for the second-seeded Auger-Aliassime.

The win improved Medvedev’s ATP Head2Head series lead against the Canadian to 6-0. The third seed is now on an eight-match winning streak, having gone on to lift his 16th tour-level title in the Netherlands last weekend.

Medvedev’s opponent in Saturday’s championship match in Doha will be Andy Murray, after the former World No. 1 saved five match points before downing Jiri Lehecka 6-0, 3-6, 7-6(6) in dramatic fashion earlier on Friday.

More to follow…

Andy Murray pulled off another thrilling three-set victory on Friday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where the Briton saved five match points to down Jiri Lehecka 6-0, 3-6, 7-6(6) and reach his first ATP Tour final since last June. (Watch Medvedev v Murray Saturday 4pm CET/10am ET)

In an engaging clash of generations and gamestyles in Doha, the determined defence and consistent baseline hitting of former World No. 1 Murray prevailed in dramatic fashion against the greater power of 21-year-old Jiri Lehecka. The Briton recovered a 3-5 deficit in the final set, a comeback which included breaking Lehecka when trailing 4-5, 40/0 on the Czech’s serve.

“I don’t know [how I won],” said a disbelieving Murray after the match. “That was one of the most amazing turnarounds I’ve had in my career. You obviously had the three match points at 5-4, but also [two] when I was serving at 5-3, and then I don’t know.

“I knew it was his first time serving for a final, so I knew I had to try and keep the pressure on at the end. I know how difficult it is to serve matches like that out, but I’ve no idea how I managed to turn that one round to be honest.”

Another 3-set win for @andy_murray!!

Maintaining his forehand #ShotQuality level and using his court craft to disrupt Lehecka

Can he go one more and lift the title 🏆?#TennisInsights | @atptour pic.twitter.com/FbXa1RCdcX

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) February 24, 2023

Two-time Doha champion Murray converted his second match point in the deciding-set tie-break to complete a two-hour, 29-minute victory in which he struck just 17 winners to Lehecka’s 44, but also converted five of his nine break points. He will take on Daniil Medvedev in Saturday’s championship match, after the third seed later defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6(7).

It was the Briton’s fourth three-set win in as many matches this week in Qatar, where he has also gone the distance in victories against Lorenzo Sonego, Alexander Zverev and Alexandre Muller. The victory improved Murray’s record for 2023 to 6-2, with all six of his wins coming in deciding sets.

The 35-year-old has not won a tour-level match in straight sets since beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Gijon first round on 11 October last year, but his persistence this week has nonetheless earned the Briton a record fifth Doha championship match appearance.

“This tournament over the years has had many great players,” said Murray when asked about his new record. “[Roger] Federer played a lot, and guys like [Andy] Roddick and [Rafael] Nadal, Novak [Djokovic] has played. Those guys have obviously achieved a lot more than me but this is one small win that I can have over them, so I’ll enjoy this evening and hopefully I can put on a good performance tomorrow.”

Friday’s late drama came after Murray had made a straightforward start to his maiden ATP Head2Head clash with Lehecka. The 6-0 opening-set scoreline represented a change of tune for the Briton by his own standards in Doha this week, as he stayed solid in all facets of his game to expertly capitalise on a wayward start from his opponent.

Lehecka responded immediately, finding his rhythm behind his huge serve and booming forehand to claim the second set after clinching its only break of serve in the second game. That combination looked set to guide the Czech to victory as he also made the early running in the deciding set. Two breaks of the Murray serve in the opening five games, one of which was immediately reclaimed by the Briton, helped the Czech establish his 5-3 lead.

Cue Murray’s inspired intervention. The 46-time tour-level titlist saved Lehecka’s first two match points when serving at 3-5, but when the Czech opened up a 40/0 lead in the following game, Murray’s hopes of reaching a record fifth Doha final looked lost. Yet some free-flowing baseline hitting, particularly off the backhand wing, heaped pressure onto Lehecka and secured a crucial break. The wild card then held firm in the deciding tie-break for a famous semi-final triumph.

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden capped a week of Match Tie-break redemption at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Friday, when they edged Constant Lestienne and Botic van de Zandschulp 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-6 to lift their maiden ATP Tour title as a team.

Despite losing a tie-break to drop a see-saw opening set that featured six breaks of serve, the Indian-Australian pair held its nerve to complete a 99-minute final victory. Bopanna and Ebden converted four of six break point opportunities and took command early in the Match Tie-break, opening 4/1 and 9/4 leads en route to their win.

Last weekend, Bopanna and Ebden suffered final heartbreak in Rotterdam, where they held a championship point in the Match Tie-break before falling to Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek. This week in Doha, the third-seeded pair sealed three of its four victories in Match Tie-breaks, including Friday’s final.

It was Bopanna’s second title in Doha. The 42-year-old lifted the trophy there in 2018 alongside Wesley Koolhof, while he also reached the 2022 final with Denis Shapovalov. His partner Ebden is the first Australian titlist, in singles or doubles, in the history of the Doha event.

Bopanna and Ebden are now 7-3 for 2023, having begun their partnership in Adelaide in January.

Mahut/Martin Book Final Spot In Marseille
At the Open 13 Provence, Nicolas Mahut and Fabrice Martin defeated Romain Arneodo and Sam Weissborn 7-5, 7-5 to secure their place in Sunday’s championship match at the indoor ATP 250.

Home favourites Mahut and Martin broke decisively in the 12th game of both sets in Marseille to secure a 90-minute semi-final victory against the Monegasque-Austrian duo Arneodo and Weissborn. The second-seeded Frenchman will take on top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Indian pair N.Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in the final.

Cabal/Melo Charge Into Rio Final
In Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Melo is one win away from his first title on home soil since Costa do Sauipe in 2011 after he and Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Cabal defeated Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 6-4, 6-4. Melo has won 36 titles during his career but has never lifted the trophy in Rio.

In Saturday’s final Cabal and Melo will play fellow South Americans Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molten after the Argentines defeated fourth seeds Francisco Cabral and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4.

Juan Sebastian Cabal and Marcelo Melo dominated the Argentine team of Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Diego Schwartzman on Thursday at the Rio Open presented by Claro. The second seeds earned a 6-1, 6-2 win in the all-South American quarter-final, not allowing a break point in the match.

Home favourite Melo is lone Brazilian remaining in the singles or doubles draw at the ATP 500.

The Colombian-Brazilian duo will meet Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in the semi-finals after their 7-5, 6-4 win against Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow.

Fourth seeds Francisco Cabral and Horacio Zeballos also advanced to the last four with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win against Gonzalo Escobar and Tomislav Brkic.

Marseille Success For Home Favourites
Three Frenchmen are through to the semi-finals at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille after Thursday wins.

Second seeds Nicolas Mahut and Fabrice Martin progressed with a 6-3, 6-4 result against Jonathan Eysseric and Denys Molchanov, while Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Mexican Santiago Gonzalez — the top seeds at the ATP 250 — scored a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Luca Sanchez and Petros Tsitsipas. Neither team has lost a set in their two Marseille matches.

Mahut/Martin will face N.Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan after their 3-6, 7-6(4), 13-11 win against Dustin Brown and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. After leading 9/6 in the Match Tie-break, the Indian duo erased a match point at 10/11 before clinching victory on their fifth chance.

Gonazlez/Roger-Vasselin will meet Romain Arneodo and Sam Weissborn, who received a walkover in the quarters.

Doha Final Set
Third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden will meet Constant Lestienne and Botic van de Zandschulp in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final after both teams advanced on Thursday at the ATP 250.

Bopanna/Ebden were 6-4, 6-3 winners against Britons Daniel Evans Jonny O’Mara, while Lestinne/van de Zandschulp edged the Finnish pair of Patrik Niklas-Salminen and Emil Ruusuvuori 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 by winning the final two points of a neck-and-neck Match Tie-break.

The final will open Friday’s play on centre court at 3:30 p.m. local time.