Daniil Medvedev on Saturday continued his impressive form with a win 6-2, 6-2 over compatriot Andrey Rublev in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final, claiming his third title in three weeks.
Defending champion Rublev, bidding for a second straight title in Dubai, was unable to put up much resistance as he did not have a single break point during a battle between childhood friends that lasted just more than an hour.
Medvedev, who entered the final having not dropped a set this week and ended Novak Djokovic’s unbeaten run in the semi-finals, added to last month’s titles in Doha and Rotterdam to take his tally to 19 tour-level titles.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“It is amazing because at the start of the year, it was not perfect. In tennis when you don’t win matches you have doubts. Now it just feels better,” Medvedev said.
“I was really happy with these three weeks and I am looking forward to the next ones,” he said.
“I know Andrey can cause a lot of trouble to everyone on tour. Every time we play he tries to make me suffer, I try to make him suffer. Today I managed to be on top, but the next match could be a different story,” he added.
The 27-year-old, who sent down nine aces and converted 57 percent of the breakpoints he won in the final, moves to sixth in the ATP rankings, while Rublev drops to seventh.
“I think it’s a good thing for Daniil that he’s doing this, for his career, for his life, that he’s achieving those things. Three titles in a row, it’s unreal. What else to say?” Rublev told a post-match news conference.
Former US Open champion Medvedev next travels to the US, where he would seek to continue his winning run at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, from March 19 to April 2.
In Acapulco, Australia’s Alex de Minaur defeated Tommy Paul of the US in three sets to win the Mexican Open.
The 24-year-old de Minaur fought back after dropping the opening set to clinch the seventh title of his professional career with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.
The win was the seventh title of de Minaur’s career and his first in an ATP 500 event.
“It feels great, it feels amazing,” De Minaur said in an on-court interview following his win.
De Minaur’s dogged performance was epitomized by the opening game of the final set, when he saved five break points to hold before winning in 2 hours, 27 minutes.
Additional reporting by AFP
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