Medvedev destroys good friend Rublev to win 3rd consecutive title
ATP
Daniil Medvedev is on a roll again, winning the 2023 Dubai Championships, and his roll might end with him attacking the World No. 1 spot soon.
Just recently, the 2021 US Open champion and former World No. 1 dropped out of the Top 10 after he was forced to miss a part of the 2022 season and struggled with his form for a moment.
And after starting slow in 2023, he started a 14-match winning streak and won three consecutive titles. First, the 27-year-old won in Rotterdam, as he defeated Jannik Sinner in the final.
Then, he bested Andy Murray in Doha before defeating Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Dubai Championships semi-finals to set up a final clash with his good friend Andrey Rublev.
After Medvedev won the first five matches they played without losing a set, Rublev triumphed in their last two meetings and had hopes that he could beat his friend again.
But this time, Medvedev was just too good, as he was certainly coming into the final match with plenty of confidence following his win over Djokovic.
He started with a break in the first set, and despite missing out on a chance of another break in the fifth game, he added another in the seventh to comfortably win the first set 6-2, hitting 13 winners and making only 2 unforced errors along the way.
Medvedev kept his level very high also in the second set, as he added 14 winners and made only 4 unforced errors, while his opponent started missing a little bit more.
After only an hour and 9 minutes of play, Medvedev won the match 6-2, 6-2, as he didn't face any break points, to lift the third consecutive ATP title.
On Monday, he will improve his position in the ATP Rankings once again, rising to sixth, while he will send Rublev to seventh place.
