Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships: De Minaur and Rublev out but top seed Medvedev cruises through

Croatia's Cilic rolls back the years to reach last 16 and faces Popyrin on Wednesday

Croatia's Marin Cilic celebrates winning his round of 32 match against Australia's Alex de Minaur in Dubai. Reuters

Veteran Marin Cilic produced a vintage display to knock out No 2 seed Alex De Minaur on a dramatic day of upsets at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

On a gusty afternoon in the UAE, the 36-year-old Cilic was joined in the last 16 by French qualifier Quentin Halys who knocked out Andrey Rublev, the No3 seed and 2022 Dubai champion.

The wind seemed to upset De Minaur’s rhythm as he struggled against the towering Cilic, striking 32 unforced errors and managing only nine winners.

Cilic wasted little time wrapping up the first set 6-2 and, despite a fightback in the second from the World No 8, when the veteran Cilic saved a break point in the first game of the third set and broke serve for 4-2, there was only ever likely to be one winner.

“It was a great start for me,” said Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, who hit 27 winners during the 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory that lasted two hours and 18 minutes.

“Winning the first three games, getting a feel for the court, the conditions … It was a little bit gusty, but I was feeling the ball extremely well. I know how dangerous Alex is … He is an incredible runner on the court and gets some balls that nobody gets. I had to stay patient, but aggressive. I’m just so pleased that I was able to keep that great level throughout the whole match.”

Hampered by injuries last year, Cilic was making only his second appearance of the season after losing in the first round to World No 3 Carlos Alcaraz in Doha.

The Croatian reached back-to-back quarter-finals in Dubai in 2009 and 2010 – when De Minaur was just 10 years old – and in claiming a first victory over a top-10 player since the 2022 French Open, he took it as a sign that this season could yet prove fruitful.

“I haven’t had that many chances to settle in this season. Last week, I played Carlos in Doha, Alex here – they’re both top-10 guys and playing extremely well,” said Cilic, who will face another Australian, Alexei Popyrin, on Wednesday. “It’s a great effort from me; a sign that I’m playing well. Hopefully I can keep the form going.”

Form can deceive though. Rublev took to Centre Court at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium just 48 hours after lifting his first title of the season in Doha.

Any suggestion his exertions in Qatar might render him lacking in Dubai, however, initially appeared ill-conceived as he won the first set with his usual energetic game, drawing excited cheers from an adoring throng of vocal supporters. Yet, Halys did not lie down and broke the World No 9 twice in the second set, including in the final game to level the tie.

Rublev looked sure to progress when he found himself returning serve at 40-0 up in game 11 of the deciding set, but 28-year-old Halys – ranked 77 in the world – again refused to surrender and rescued five break points before edging a tightly fought tiebreak to secure the win 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. Having come through qualifying, Halys will next face another former champion, Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut who won here in 2018.

“I’m so happy, even though I’m not so smiley now,” said Halys after his first ATP 500 main draw win. “The match was so tough … what a victory. I played really well. At the beginning I was a bit nervous, but at the end I was pretty calm. The key was to serve well, be aggressive, and make amazing shots. Every time you play a 500, you’re playing an amazing guy and I lost many times, but today is the best victory of my career. I enjoy playing here, the conditions suit my game.”

Russia's Andrey Rublev during his round of 32 defeat against France's Quentin Halys. Reuters

With two top seeds having fallen in the afternoon, all eyes turned to No 1 seed Daniil Medvedev who had retired in the Doha quarter-finals, later revealing he was suffering from food poisoning. Yet under the evening lights, the World No 6 showed his typical composure to dispatch Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 and avoid any further upsets on a day that also saw No 8 seed Arthur Fils exit at the hands of Portugal’s Nuno Borges.

Medvedev said he feels fully recovered, but conceded even just a couple days away from the court can impact preparations.

“In terms of tennis, you need a little bit to get back into the rhythm after a couple hectic days without practice," he said. "I could practice fully only yesterday and it was a really rough day, hot and humid. So I just need to get back into the rhythm and am happy I won and looking forward to my next match.”

The 2021 US Open winner will face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard next, after the young Frenchman showcased his formidable power during a first-round victory on Monday night that included a 235 kph second serve. Medvedev, whose own serve is known to exceed 238 kph, says he is looking forward to the challenge having never played him before.

“For sure, it’s not easy,” Medvedev said when asked about how to tackle such a powerful serve. “For sure, I played some guys like him before. They're all different and have their own style – some like to play more from baseline; some go to the net more. I practised with Giovanni once three or four years ago, but he was not the player he is right now, so it will be interesting. For sure the most important thing is not to get broken because that’s the tricky part. Then I’ll try to break him – let's see how it goes.”