Dubai Tennis Championships Final 2023: Daniil Medvedev vs Andrey Rublev preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (3) Daniil Medvedev vs (2) Andrey Rublev

Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023

Tournament: Dubai Tennis Championships

Round: Final

Venue: Aviation Club Tennis Center, Dubai

Category: ATP 500

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $3,020,525

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Daniil Medvedev vs Andrey Rublev preview

Third seed Medvedev will take on second seed and defending champion Rublev in an all-Russian final at the ATP 500 Dubai Tennis Championships on Saturday (March 4).

World No. 7 Medvedev continued his recent hot streak by handing top-ranked Novak Djokovic his first loss of the 2023 season on March 3. The reigning Rotterdam and Doha champion downed Djokovic in straight sets for his 18th win in 20 matches this year.

Earlier, the former World No. 1 beat Matteo Arnaldi, Alexander Bublik and Borna Coric all in straight sets to set up a blockbuster showdown with Djokovic.

Meanwhile, the sixth-ranked Rublev has largely operated under the radar. He beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets to reach back-to-back Dubai finals and improve to 9-5 on the season.

Rublev opened his title defense with wins against Filip Krajinovic, Alexander Davidovich Fokina and Botic van de Zandschulp.

With his win over Zverev, Rublev has made consecutive finals in the same tournament for only the second time, after doing so in Hamburg (2019-20).

Daniil Medvedev vs Andrey Rublev head-to-head

Medvedev holds a 4-2 H2H lead over his compatriot, with Rublev winning the pair's last two meetings.

The Russians last collided in the round-robin stage of the 2022 ATP Finals in Turin, which Rublev won in a third-set tiebreak. Interestingly, all six of their meetings have come on hard court.

Daniil Medvedev vs Andrey Rublev odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bet	Total games (over/under)
Daniil Medvedev	-500	-1.5 (-175)	Over 20.5 (-130)
Andrey Rublev	+360	+1.5 (+125)	Under 20.5 (-110)

The odds are as per BetMGM.

Daniil Medvedev vs Andrey Rublev prediction

Both Medvedev and Rublev are powerful servers and quintessential baseliners. However, Medvedev holds the edge in terms of recent form and his superior big-game experience.

The 2021 US Open champion knows how to get the job done at the business end of tournaments. This could stand him in good stead in the final of the ATP 500 Dubai Tennis Championships.

Medvedev comes in with serious form, winning his last 13 matches, which include titles in Rotterdam and Doha. Rublev, for his part, is into his first final of the season. Although he has the game to hurt Medvedev, the latter appears too hot to handle at the moment and should take the win.

Prediction: Medvedev in straight sets

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Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

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Edited by Aditya Singh