Daniil Medvedev and Andy Murray will take on each other in the final of the 2023 ATP Qatar Open on February 25.
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The ATP Tour in 2023 is being improved solely by Andy Murray in terms of excitement and entertainment value. The in-form Jiri Lehecka was the opponent in the semifinal match, and despite expectations that he would tyre after his demanding and taxing recent matches, he managed to produce an even more dramatic situation by saving three consecutive matchpoints (a total of five) on return at 4-5 in the deciding set before winning the tiebreaker, 6-0 3-6 7-6. In addition to six victories on the main tour in 2023, all four of his victories this week in Doha have come in deciding sets. Of note, he saved match point(s) in three of those matches against Jiri Lehecka, Sonego, and Matteo Berrettini in Doha and Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open.
The players who defeated Jiri Lehecka in knockout events this year (prior to ATP Doha) both came in second place that week: Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Australian Open and Cameron Norrie in Auckland. The former British No. 1 will try to break this trend this Saturday in the Middle East. He is 2-2 in championship matches in Doha, and his most recent such match, in which he defeated the then-number one-ranked Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the semifinal, ended in a three-set loss to Novak Djokovic. The former world number one has enjoyed playing in the Middle East over the years and has had success there in the past. He famously won his last championship on outdoor hard courts.
Daniil Medvedev qualified for the ATP Doha finals by defeating Felix Auger Aliassime for the sixth time in as many tries. The Canadian’s failure to capitalise on his opportunities in the second set and force a decider suggested that he has a mental block when playing the Russian, which contributed to the result (DM won 6-4 7-6). The Russian has not exactly impressed thus far in this campaign. But given that he hasn’t been winning games while playing poorly in recent months, that might be the most encouraging development for him in Doha this week. Even last month during the Australian swing, he was winning matches on days when he was playing well but losing easily in straight sets on off days.
Last week at ATP Rotterdam, the world’s eighth-ranked player defeated Felix Auger Aliassime in the quarterfinals and went on to win the tournament by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinal and Jannik Sinner in the final. The former world number one will try for the first time in his career on Saturday to win tour-level titles in back-to-back weeks. Even at his career peak in the second half of 2019, when he reached title-deciding matches in back-to-back weeks in Washington, Montreal, and Cincinnati but sadly lost two of them, he was unable to accomplish this feat.
| Daniil Medvedev vs Andy Murray | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | February 25, 2023 |
| Surface | Hard |
| Tournament | Qatar Open |
| Stage | Final |
| Time (India) | 8:30 pm |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Felix Auger-Aliassime | 6-4, 7-6 (W) |
| Christopher O’Connell | 2-6, 6-4, 5-7 (W) |
| Liam Broady | 6-4, 6-3 (W) |
| Jannik Sinner | 7-5, 2-6, 2-6 (W) |
| Grigor Dimitrov | 6-1, 6-2 (W) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Jiri Lehecka | 0-6, 6-3, 6-7 (W) |
| Alexandre Muller | 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 (W) |
| Alexander Zverev | 6-7, 6-2, 5-7 (W) |
| Lorenzo Sonego | 6-4, 1-6, 6-7 (W) |
| Roberto Bautista Agut | 1-6, 7-6, 3-6, 4-6 (L) |
2-0 is Daniil Medvedev’s advantage. Any 35-year-old who has played four straight three-set matches in five days can find facing the Russian to be a daunting task, and the Brit would likely struggle to keep up with him even if Daniil Medvedev plays at about 70% of his usual level.
Daniil Medvedev and Andy Murray will take on each other in the final of the 2023 ATP Qatar Open on February 25.
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