Medvedev, who won tournaments in Rotterdam and Doha in February, is the third player since 2021 to accomplish this feat.
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Daniil Medvedev defeated Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-2 to win the Dubai Tennis Championships on Saturday, giving him an ATP Tour hat-trick. The third seed, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals to end the Serbian’s perfect start to the season, displayed consistency throughout the 68-minute contest to extend his winning streak to 14 games. Medvedev, who won tournaments in Rotterdam and Doha in February, is the third player since 2021 to accomplish this feat, following Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The 27-year-old has improved to No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, surpassing Rublev, who drops to No. 7. This is due to his strong performance on hard courts. Medvedev increased his record against the 25-year-old Rublev to 5-2 with his Tour-leading 19th victory of the year.
“It is amazing because at the start of the year, it was not perfect. In tennis when you don’t win matches you have doubts. Now it just feels better,” Medvedev said. “I was really happy with these three weeks and I am looking forward to the next ones. It was very tactical [match],” the Russian said. “I know Andrey can cause a lot of trouble to everyone on Tour. Every time we play he tries to make me suffer, I try to make him suffer. Today I managed to be on top, but the next match could be a different story.”
Following the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he will attempt to extend his winning streak, Medvedev will compete after winning his 18th tour-level championship there. The former World No. 1 is six victories away from matching his ATP Tour winning streak record, which he set between November 2020 and January 2021.
In the week leading up to the final, Medvedev had not lost a set, and he played confidently against Rublev to frustrate the second seed. The 27-year-old, who sat far behind the baseline to absorb Rublev’s aggressive hitting, made just two unforced errors in the opening set.
After winning the opening game, Medvedev kept finding the ideal mix of defence and attack. He broke twice in the second set to secure his victory. He used his accurate crosscourt forehand to turn the tables in baseline exchanges. At the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai, Rublev, the champion from 2022, was attempting to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the third repeat champion. In 18 different cities, Medvedev has won his 18 tour-level championships. He is the first man to do so during the Open Era.
