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Daniil Medvedev maintained his winning streak to beat Andy Murray in the Qatar Open final to claim his second title in consecutive weeks. Murray, seeking his 47th career title but his first since 2019, pushed the Russian hard but lost 6-4, 6-4 in a battle with the former world No.1s.
Medvedev also won last week in Rotterdam and has now won 18 Tour-level titles. He started strong and immediately found his basic rhythm to win most of the long exchanges, taking a 4-1 lead with two breaks of serve.
Murray, who saved five match points on Friday against Jiri Lehecka to reach his 71st ATP final, also fell behind in the second set but hit back with a serve.
The British three-time grand slam champion was on pace at 4-4 and 40-0, but Medvedev suddenly rediscovered his brick-wall resilience and reeled off five straight points to seal a crucial break of serve as Murray overcooked the volley.
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Former US Open champion Medvedev double-faulted in the first game in the next match, but the brilliant Loppi got the job done when he had another chance soon after against a tiring Murray.
“It was a very tough match because it was windy and we struggled for rhythm,” Medvedev, world No. 8, said on court. “Today was a big battle. Sometimes we both played bad, sometimes we both played well.
For Murray, 35, it was his fourth ATP final since returning to the tour following hip surgery in 2018 and despite missing three of them, he remains a force to be reckoned with.
Barbora Krejcikova beat out-of-sorts Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships to end the Pole’s best winning streak in the Middle East swing and clinch her first WTA title of 2023 and sixth overall.
“It means a lot. It was a great week and I improved in every game. I played my best tennis,” Krejcikova said. “Iga motivates me every day, it was a great final and I’m definitely happy with the result.”
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