Medvedev stops Murray in Doha final to win back-to-back titles
ATP
Daniil Medvedev won his second consecutive ATP title after beating Andy Murray in the final of the 2023 Qatar Open in Doha.
Both of these players know how it feels to rise to the World No. 1 position on the ATP Tour, so it was a clash of two former World No. 1 players in the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Doha.
On their way to the final, both beat some solid opponents, but Murray's run was more impressive, as he entered the tournament unseeded. In the first round, the British player, who entered thanks to a wild card, bested Lorenzo Sonego.
He then stunned the fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev before beating Alexandre Muller and Jiri Lehecka to reach the final of the tournament. Medvedev, on the other hand, didn't have to play his first-round match as the third seed.
He started in the second round with a win over Liam Broady, and then he bested also Christopher O'Connell. The Russian then outplayed the second-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, setting up the final match with fellow ex-No. 1 player.
Murray didn't have a goo start into the match, falling behind by one break already after the opening game. He then had a chance to break back, but after he couldn't use it, he was broken again, losing already 1-4.
The British player then recovered one of the breaks, but Medvedev was just too solid on his serve to allow any more drama in the opening set of the match, as he won it 6-4.
In the second set, the Russian player once again started by breaking his opponent's serve. This time, Murray avoided getting broken for the second time, and he even led 4-3 in the second set after erasing a 1-3 deficit.
Still, it wasn't enough to beat Medvedev, as he won his service game to love, before coming back from 0-40 down on Murray's serve to break him and win the match 6-4, 6-4, lifting the 2023 Qatar Open trophy.
