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Sixth seed to face Dimitrov in semi-finals at ATP 500 event
Daniil Medvedev maintained his perfect record against Felix Auger-Aliassime in style Friday at the ABN AMRO Open, where the sixth seed took out the defending champion 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.

The 27-year-old Medvedev was relentless from the baseline in the 83-minute quarter-final in Rotterdam, hitting just five unforced errors across the two sets to Auger-Aliassime’s 20. That consistency proved crucial in enabling the World No. 11 to break the Canadian's serve four times en route to extending his lead in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series to 5-0.

With the win, Medvedev advanced to the semi-finals in Rotterdam for the second time, having also reached that stage in 2019. His next opponent in the Netherlands will be Grigor Dimitrov, after the Bulgarian saved two match points before downing Alex de Minaur 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6) in a dramatic opening quarter-final earlier on Friday.


Auger-Aliassime lifted his maiden ATP Tour crown at Rotterdam Ahoy a year ago. The 22-year-old struggled to match the level he showed during that title run against Medvedev, yet many of his wayward groundstrokes could be attributed to the superb defensive skills of his opponent at vital moments.

Medvedev’s persistence forced the Canadian to push a forehand long for the first break of serve in the fifth game of the match, before more scrambling way behind the baseline earned the 15-time Tour titlist a 5-2 lead with a double break after Auger-Aliassime’s forehand clipped the net and flew long.

Despite signs of resistance from Auger-Aliassime in the second set, when he took advantage of a rare below-par game from his opponent to reclaim a break for 2-2, Medvedev stayed dialled-in to clinch his eighth consecutive victory at ATP 500 level. The sixth seed broke again — and this time decisively — in the seventh game to extend his streak, which he began by claiming the title in Vienna last October.

27-year-old to play for 16th tour-level title against Sinner or Griekspoor
Dialled-in defence and and a cool head at key moments have been the basis of Daniil Medvedev’s run at the ABN AMRO Open this week. Saturday’s semi-final clash against Grigor Dimitrov proved to be no exception.

The sixth seed delivered a comprehensive 6-1, 6-2 victory in 82 minutes against the Bulgarian to reach the final at the indoor hard-court tournament in Rotterdam for the first time. Medvedev was typically relentless from the baseline and converted six of 13 break points to reach his first tour-level championship match since he claimed the title in Vienna last October.

A match featuring several marathon exchanges threatened to become more complicated for Medvedev when Dimitrov recovered from 0-2 in the second set to earn three break points at 2-2, 0/40. The World No. 11 shut any potential comeback down in style, however, dropping just four more points in the match en route to increasing his ATP Head2Head series lead against Dimitrov to 5-2.

Court, covered

These two are getting the steps in today…
⁰@abnamroopen | #abnamroopen pic.twitter.com/6mI6WtOtx5

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 18, 2023
“It was an amazing match,” said Medvedev afterwards. “The score [looks] easy, but the match was not. I felt physically like I was playing five sets. [There were] some amazing rallies. It was 2-2, 0/40 for him in the second [set], so to manage to win it 6-2, just raise my level a little bit on serve and manage to keep consistent… He made a few more errors than he needed to make, and I’m happy with my level.”

The win lifted Medvedev one spot to No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He could rise one place further to No. 9 with victory in his 28th tour-level championship match on Sunday against Jannik Sinner or home wild card Tallon Griekspoor.

“It would be amazing [to win here],” said the former World No. 1 and 15-time tour-level titlist. “Every time I come here, and I think it is my fifth time here, everywhere there are photos of the winners and their names.

“I don’t remember who won it first time, but then Arthur Ashe won it [twice]. Then [others including] McEnroe, Borg, Edberg, and I’m like ‘Well, that tournament has a history for sure’. To add my name there would be amazing, but for this I need to play well in the final.”