Daniil Medvedev maintained his successful roll to beat Andy Murray within the Qatar Open closing and declare his second title in successive weeks on Saturday.
Veteran Murray, bidding for his forty seventh profession title however first since 2019, pushed the Russian exhausting however succumbed 6-4 6-4 in a battle of former world quantity ones.
Medvedev additionally triumphed in Rotterdam final week and now has 18 Tour-level titles in his locker.
He began strongly and was instantly into his baseline rhythm to win the vast majority of the lengthy exchanges, shifting right into a 4-1 lead with two breaks of serve.
Murray, who saved 5 match factors on Friday towards Jiri Lehecka to succeed in his 71st ATP closing, additionally fell behind within the second set however hit again with a break of serve.
The British three-times Grand Slam champion had the momentum at 4-4 40-0 however Medvedev all of the sudden rediscovered his brick wall-like resilience to reel off 5 successive factors, sealing an important service break as Murray over-cooked a volley.
Former U.S Open champion Medvedev double-faulted on his first match level within the following sport however an excellent lob accomplished the job when he had one other alternative quickly afterwards towards a weary-looking Murray.
“It was a really powerful match as a result of it was windy and we struggled for rhythm,” world quantity eight Medvedev stated on courtroom. “Right now was a giant battle. Typically we have been each taking part in dangerous, generally we each performed properly.”
For Murray, 35, it was his fourth ATP closing since returning to the tour after having hip surgical procedure in 2018 and, whereas he has misplaced three of these, he stays a power to be reckoned with.