Two trophies in two weeks for Medvedev as Murray magic runs out
Daniil Medvedev ended Andy Murray’s dreams of another tour title in Qatar
Tennis – ATP 250 – Qatar Open – Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha, Qatar – February 25, 2023 Russia’s Daniil Medvedev celebrates with the trophy after winning his final match against Britain’s Andy Murray (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)
Daniil Medvedev won his second trophy in as many weeks as he beat Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4 to win the title in Qatar.
It means he is now on a nine-match winning streak having picked up his 17th tour-level title.
Medvedev underlined his mastery on hard courts – 16 of his titles have come on that surface.
Medvedev has still not dropped a set against Murray, but this match was certainly the closest of their three so far; the Russian got the win in Miami last year 6-4, 6-2, and in Brisbane in 2019, 7-5, 6-2.
Murray: Medvedev is one of the best players on tour
It was a challenge too far for Murray, who saved eight match points en route to the final (three against Lorenzo Sonego in the first round, five against Jiri Lehecka in the semi-final).
Indeed, the newly-crowned champion made a deft nod to Murray’s tenacious displays, saying in his post-match speech that he thought: “I have a match point against Andy! That’s not a good sign!”
Murray had nice words for him as well, reflecting: “It was an incredible week, obviously didn’t finish how I wanted, but I had some amazing matches here, created some great memories, and it’s fantastic to be in a final here again against an incredible player – Daniil is one of my favourite players to watch and one of the best players on the tour.”
The 35-year-old was playing in his fifth Doha final – the most in tournament history – and aiming for his third title there.
