Daniil Medvedev continued his winning streak on Saturday, defeating Andy Murray in the Qatar Open final to capture his second championship in as many weeks.
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In a matchup of former World No. 1s and Grand Slam champions, the Russian, who won the title in Rotterdam last week, defeated the 35-year-old British 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 46 minutes. Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, won his ninth straight match to raise his total number of tour-level victories to 17. Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, who received a main draw wildcard, defeated Czech Republicβs Jiri Lehecka in the semifinal after rallying from match points down to defeat the fourth-seeded Jiri Zverev in the first round. He then defeated fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev and French qualifier Alexandre Muller in the tour-level final.
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The world No. 70 promptly fell behind 0-40 in the opening game, giving up the lead after battling back to 2-0. At 1-2, he was able to create two break points on the Medvedev serve, but he was unable to capitalize on them, and he lost a second break. However, he quickly recovered and earned one back. Momentum seemed to change when the 27-year-old faced another break point after leading 40-15, but he managed to hold on to take the lead 5-3 and go within one game of the first set. When Murray could be seen stumbling towards his box, Medvedev avoided a blip and finished the first set 6-4 in 54 minutes. He was also quick to assert himself on Murrayβs serve early in the second set, breaking to get even closer to a 17th career victory.
The 27-year-old faced another break point after leading 40-15, which appeared to swing the momentum, but he held on to grab the lead 5-3 and get within one game of the first set. Medvedev avoided a wobble and completed the opening set 6-4 in 54 minutes as Murray could be seen limping towards his box. Early in the second set, he quickly asserted himself on Murrayβs serve, breaking to inch even closer to a 17th career triumph. The world No. 70 sent the ball long to give Medvedev the game, leaving him to serve for the match at 5-4 in the second, and Murray lost four straight points after leading 40-0 on his serve when the 27-year-old unintentionally smacked him with the ball to take a break point lead. The former world No. 1 was in some trouble after blowing a match point, but the world No. 8 avoided the fate of Murrayβs other opponents this week by winning 6-4, 6-4 in what was the 35-year-first oldβs straight-set match of the competition. This prevented Murray from winning his first championship since October 2019. The victory is Medvedevβs 17th in his professional career and comes only six days after his sweet 16 victory in Rotterdam.
The 35-year-old enjoyed an astonishing week which saw him save nine match points β three in his opening round, five in the semi-final and one in the final. He also came back from a set down against sixth seed Alexander Zverev and qualifier Alexandre Muller during his run, having also trailed by a break in the final set of both matches. Like Medvedev, Andy Murray will be in action at next weekβs Dubai Championships, where he faces fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz in the first round.
