Daniil Medvedev maintained his red-hot February form on Saturday to power to victory at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where the third seed prevailed 6-4, 6-4 against Andy Murray to claim the title on tournament debut in Doha.
Medvedev made a fast start in both sets to complete his one-hour, 47-minute victory in a battle between two former World No. 1s, opening up a 4-1 lead in the first and a 3-1 lead in the second. Murray, who won all four of his previous matches in Doha this week in three sets, reclaimed a break in each set, but Medvedev denied another comeback for the 35-year-old to clinch his 17th tour-level title.
Having also triumphed in Rotterdam last week, Medvedev is the first player to clinch back-to-back singles titles in the 2023 ATP Tour season. On Monday, the 27-year-old will leapfrog Rafael Nadal to No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as a result of his Doha title run.
Pinpoint accuracy 📍
@QatarTennis | #Qemo2023 | @DaniilMedwed pic.twitter.com/GAMffTm1Wq— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 25, 2023
Medvedev entered Saturday’s final having not dropped a set against Murray in the pair’s two previous ATP Head2Head meetings. In Doha, he started confidently against the Briton once again, opening a double=break lead at 4-1 by staying solid while Murray struggled to find his best level.
However, as he had in each of his victories this week, the Briton demonstrated resilience when under pressure. Murray began to match Medvedev in the longer rallies, with the 46-time tour-level titlist striking his backhand particularly cleanly. He reclaimed one of the breaks and held another break point at 4-5, but Medvedev held firm to move ahead.
The defining feature of Medvedev’s recent form has been his relentlessness from the baseline, and his retrieving abilities helped him break Murray’s serve again in the first game of the second set. Although Murray rallied, levelling for 3-3 with some inspired defence on break point, another decisive break for Medvedev in the ninth game helped extend his winning streak to nine tour-level matches.
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