Merry is in the biggest finals! He was not stopped in Dubai by Čilič, Bautista, Djokovič or Shapovalov

Jiří Veselý In recent months, he has been worried about the game and the results, he dropped out of the Top 100 and after two years he lost his position as the Czech number one.

He has won a single ATP circuit in the last seven months, and has not won twice at this level since last February. And so no great result was expected from him even in Dubai, where for him all three previous starts ended right after the first performance.

This year, however, the 28-year-old native of Příbram is experiencing a ‘resurrection’ in the United Arab Emirates. He passed the qualification and in the main competition he stepped on four former or current players Top 10: Croat Marina Čilič (24th in ATP), fresh champion from Doha Spaniard Robert Bautista (15th), Serb Novak Djokovic (1st) and Canadian Denise Shapovalova (14.). He did not beat the Top 20 players from Wimbledon 2019.

Today, Veselý played the semi-finals for the ninth time in his career and for the first time ever at an ATP 500 event. He defeated a Canadian six years younger in the first duel after 3 hours and 12 minutes of combat 6-7 7-6 7-6.

Jiří Veselý continues his ‘resurrection’! Shapovalova also beat the ATP 500 in Dubai and is in his biggest final!

Habib (421.)✅
Popyrin (66.) ✅
Čilič (24.) ✅
Bautista (15.)✅
Djokovic (1.) ✅
Shapovalov (14.)✅
Rublev (7th) (

https://t.co/pV8sv8qmbY pic.twitter.com/aQf3R01IDv

– Tennis Explorer (@TenisPortalCZ) February 25, 2022

“I’m living a dream here. It was my first semi-final of the ATP 500 tournament and I had to fight to the last ball to move on. And now I’m happy,” Veselý said after the match, reminding herself that he hadn’t been well at all in recent months. “I’ve been down and all of a sudden this. Turnover comes fast sometimes, but before that it takes patience, hard work and waiting for a chance.”

Veselý entered the semifinals well and led 3-0, but the opponent quickly leveled at 3-3. In the seventh game, Veselý did not use two breakballs and lost the first tie-break match with a ratio of 7-9. In the second set, both players held tight service and in the tie-break succeeded the more active Veselý with a ratio of 7-1.

After two hours and three minutes, it went to the third set and the Czech player could go to the first in the break. At 4-3, he led the Canadian 40-0, but failed, and immediately lost the serve himself. But he didn’t let Shapoval’s match serve him and forced a third tie-break. He took the lead 4-1, played faster, and at 6-3, after Shapovalov’s mistake, he rejoiced in advancing.

Already the 123rd player in the ATP Veselý rankings has already secured a return to the world 100 by participating in the semifinals. Thanks to the final participation, he will move to at least 75th place in the singles ranking and after a few weeks he will take back the position of the Czech number one.

Veselý will receive prize money in the amount of $ 282,300 (approximately 6 million crowns) to advance to the finals of the generously subsidized tournament in Dubai. The winner of the tournament will almost double from the United Arab Emirates.

Former junior winner of the Australian Open Veselý will strive for the third and most valuable title in his 4th final at the ATP circuit. The year before, he won a trophy in Pune, India, and in 2015 he qualified for a triumph in Auckland, New Zealand.

He will play for the prestigious trophy from Dubai in the first mutual duel with the world number seven Andrei Rublev. The 24-year-old Russian, who triumphed in Marseille last week, defeated 3-6 7-5 7-6 Poles in the first semifinal Hubert Hurkacze and won the eighth match in ten days on two continents. He defeated six opponents only after a three hundred match.

Shapovalov, who helped his country triumph at the ATP Cup at the start of the season and played in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, lost to a Czech opponent who did not figure in the elite hundred for the third time in seven months. Last July, Vít Kopřiv was not sensationally enough for Gstaad, and two weeks ago in Rotterdam, he succumbed to Jiří Leheček. He now has a 3-4 balance with the Czechs, 2-1 against Tomáš Berdych.