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Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev has reiterated his call for peace in the war in Ukraine after reaching the Dubai Tennis Championship final.<\/span><\/p>\n The defending champion, 25, beat Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6 (11-9) and will face compatriot Daniil Medvedev – who beat Novak Djokovic – on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n En route to last year’s title, Rublev wrote “no war please” on a camera lens days after Russia invaded Ukraine.<\/span><\/p>\n “You cannot act like nothing is happening,” he said on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n “It’s horrible. It’s crazy that so many just normal citizens are suffering, dying. The only thing I hope is that soon there will be peace in every country.”<\/span><\/p>\n After beating Zverev for the first time in six meetings, the sixth-ranked Rublev paid tribute to the late Soviet rock star Viktor Tsoi by again signing the camera lens, this time with the message: “Tsoi is alive.”<\/span><\/p>\n “He was one artist from a past generation that had huge volume I think on USSR because his voice was really powerful,” added Rublev. <\/span><\/p>\n “That was not an easy time. The lyrics that he was writing gave a lot of hope to the people at that time. I just wrote it because I feel that now, at this time, is happening similar things.”<\/span><\/p>\n Medvedev brought Djokovic’s perfect start to 2023 to an end with a straight-set victory over the world number one.<\/span><\/p>\n Djokovic had reached the semi-final on a 20-match winning run but went down 6-4 6-4 as Medvedev set up an all-Russian final.<\/span><\/p>\n