Medvedev joins Mpetshi Perricard in Dubai Round of 16

Daniil Medvedev has recovered well from his withdrawal in Doha. After throwing in the towel due to food poisoning in the quarter-finals against Felix Auger-Aliassime in Qatar, the Russian, seeded number 1 in Dubai, made his first appearance against Jan-Lennard Struff.

The two men have already faced each other on numerous occasions, and played each other in Marseille two weeks ago, with Medvedev winning in straight sets.

Medvedev, eliminated in the second round at the Australian Open and still in search of his first ATP Tour title since the Rome Masters 1000 two years ago, wants to react and show it on court.

More solid on his service games (4 break points saved out of 4, 7 aces), the former world number 1 had 10 break points throughout the match.

He managed to convert one of them, which was enough to win the first set. The second, on the other hand, was indecisive right to the end, with both men proving solid until the tie-break.

In this game, Medvedev pulled away to lead 5 points to 0. Despite a burst of pride from Struff, who came back to 6 points to 4, the winner of the 2021 US Open finally wrapped up the match on his fourth match point (6-4, 7-6).

In the last 16, Medvedev will face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The Frenchman had dominated Zhang Zhizhen on Monday (6-3, 7-6) to secure his place in the second round.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two men on the main circuit, with a ticket to the quarter-finals at stake.