Novak Djokovic didn’t make it to the final in Dubai. Still, he secured another record, becoming the second player, after Roger Federer, with ten semifinals in seven ATP tournaments! Reaching ten semi-finals at the same ATP event has always been a challenge, no matter how much a player would like to compete there.
That feat has been reserved for nine players since the start of the Open Era, four of whom are at the top of the list. Playing in at least ten semifinals in at least four ATP events, Andre Agassi held the record before Roger Federer surpassed it to take it to seven.
Rafael Nadal joined them with ten semifinals across six tournaments, mostly on his beloved clay. Novak Djokovic, another synonym for consistency, started the current season with ten semi-finals in five events.
Novak added the Australian Open and Dubai, equaling Roger’s achievement. Djokovic made his Dubai debut in 2007, losing to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. The Serb twice failed to make it to the semifinals in the desert, but delivered deep race after deep race to reach ten semifinals.
Novak kicked off his 13th Dubai campaign this week with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win over young Czech Tomas Machac. Machac recovered in the second set and won it with an early break.
Novak led 4-1 in the decider before Tomas retrieved the break and extended the fight. It went into a crucial tie-break, which Djokovic won 7-1 to take the win.
Novak met Tallon Griekspoor in the second round for a 6-2, 6-3 triumph in an hour and 22 minutes for a place in the last eight.
Novak Djokovic has accumulated ten semifinals in seven ATP tournaments.
Novak lost just once on serve for the win, converting half the return points into four breaks from 16 chances.
Djokovic faced Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals for a 6-3, 7-5 win in an hour and 21 minutes. The Serb defeated the Pole for a fifth straight season, never giving up a break point in the process and twice stealing serve from the rival to advance to the semis for a tenth time in Dubai.
Djokovic broke through on his third break chance in game four of the opener, serving well for a 6-3 in 35 minutes. They stayed level until 5:5 in the second set. The Pole struggled to find free points on serve, fending off 11 break points in game.
He defended four of those before Novak used the fifth to take a 6-5 lead and serve for the win. Djokovic held in the 12th game confidently and without losing a point to seal the deal and advance to the semifinals.
Novak’s perfect start to the season ended with a 4-6, 4-6 loss to the in-form Daniil Medvedev on Friday. The Serb earned just one break point in the entire encounter and was broken three times, putting the Russian in front.
Medvedev got two consecutive breaks in the first set, forged a 5-2 lead and held in the tenth game to make it 6-4. Daniil also broke through early in the second set, producing five games of service without a break point to move on top and advance to the final.
