Daniil Medvedev can still achieve career first in Dubai as he reaches semifinals

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Daniil Medvedev defeated Jenson Brooksby, 6-2, 6-1, in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The Russian didn’t need to get out of first gear, as he breezed past the American to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships last four.

Medvedev has been dominant in Dubai so far, and has yet to lose more than three games in a set, beating Juncheng Shang, 6-1, 6-3, Stan Wawrinka, 6-2, 6-3, and Brooksby, 6-2, 6-1.

He is now just two wins away from achieving a career first!

Daniil Medvedev can win a second title at an event for the first time

The former world number one has won 22 ATP titles.

But Medvedev is yet to win the same title twice.

Daniil Medvedev’s unique title record

His record is one of the strangest in modern tennis, as most players find their best level at specific venues.

The big three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, for example, all won 10+ titles at certain events.

• Novak Djokovic – 10 x Australian Open champion
• Rafael Nadal – 14 x French Open champion
• Rafael Nadal – 12 x Barcelona Open champion
• Rafael Nadal – 11 x Monte-Carlo Masters champion
• Rafael Nadal – 10 x Italian Open champion
• Roger Federer – 10 x Halle Open champion
• Roger Federer – 10 x Swiss Indoors champion

Medvedev would love nothing more than to win his second Dubai title this weekend…

Daniil Medvedev reacts after beating Jenson Brooksby

The Russian moved to within two wins of the Dubai Tennis Championships title with a straight-sets victory over Brooksby.

Medvedev was, unsurprisingly, delighted with his performance.

“I felt great,” he said during his post-match interview.

“I know that he maybe had some issues, shoulder, elbow, I’m not sure, but his first serve was not going as he usually can.

“But you still need to play, you still need to put the returns in, you still need to play the points.

“He’s a big fighter; he tries to sneak in on the points.

Daniil Medvedev vs Jenson Brooksby – Match stats

“There were a couple of games on my serve where I was under pressure, so I’m happy with the way I’m playing here and looking forward to the semis.”

Medvedev was then asked about his consistency on tour and whether he feels better prepared now than ever.

“No, I think there were moments in my career where I was prepared better,” he said.

“Funny enough, less with experience, but more with this young… You know how they say, rookies get lucky.

“More of this kind of stuff, everything was new, I didn’t care, was just playing the way I felt.

“Now I have a lot more thoughts in my head, which can help me sometimes.

“But sometimes I need to get rid of them to play better.

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“I still know that I can be consistent, for example, end of last year, I was super consistent, and this year, I’m trying to regain it, and this tournament is great so far.”

Medvedev then shared whether he ‘overthinks’ when playing.

“But probably like 90/100 tennis players [do] and that’s being easy, maybe it’s more, but it’s just a matter of how everyone handles it and how everyone is able to get rid of this.

“To get rid of this, you have a lot of different tactics, techniques, you can try to think about different things, I don’t know, it works different for everyone.

“Even for me, every match is going to be a different tactic to get rid of useless thoughts.

“Today was not overthinking too much, I felt like I was doing the right thing on almost every point, I felt really good and looking forward.”

Medvedev is looking forward, but who will he play next in Dubai?

The 30-year-old will play Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals on Friday, February 27.