Top seed Daniil Medvedev cruises into Dubai semifinals

(Photo credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports)

Top seed Daniil Medvedev, after a battle in the second round, had a smoother outing Thursday in defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Medvedev had needed three sets to oust Italian Lorenzo Sonego a day earlier, but the Russian rode 15 winners, three aces and just six unforced errors to dispatch