DUBAI: Daniel Medvedev conquered all remaining doubts by scoring an impressive hat-trick, securing a third title in as many weeks with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Andrei Rublev in the Dubai final on Saturday.
‘Not over yet,’ scribbled third-seeded Medvedev on the TV camera lens after his triumph, referring to his 14-game winning streak accumulated over the past 19 days, starting with the title in Rotterdam, followed by Doha and now Dubai. .
“It’s incredible because the start of the year has not been perfect; in tenniswhen you don’t win tournaments you always have doubts no matter what happens in training,” said Medvedev, who briefly dropped out of the top 10 last month before recovering tremendously.
“I doubted a lot and now it’s better. I’m really happy with these three weeks and I’m looking forward to the next ones.”
Playing fluid tennis throughout the week, earning him a coveted victory over world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals before ending Rublev’s title defense in the final, Medvedev shot a total of 119 winners in five games, including 27 in the championship decider.
“A lot of shots were taken in this tournament which maybe wasn’t meant to be, and sometimes that’s when the confidence goes down, so that helps a lot,” Medvedev said, who have now won their last four matches in a row against top 10 opponents after losing nine in a row.
Rublev was the winner of his two previous clashes with the arrival of Medvedev but had no answer for his compatriot on Saturday. He attempted to venture to the net, advancing 18 times, but only managed 12 of those approaches as Medvedev punished him from the back of the court.
“I think it was a very tactical game, I know Andrey can cause a lot of problems for everyone on tour. So every time we play he tries to hurt me, I try to hurt him. To make suffer.
“Today I managed to be on top, but the next games might be a different story,” said Medvedev, who leads his childhood friend 5-2 in head-to-head encounters. of the tour.
Former world number one Medvedev put Rublev under pressure on serve early on, and the No. 2 seed had to find a brave volley to fend off an early break point in the opener. But Medvedev still found a way to carve out a 3-1 opening.
Rublev saved two break points to hold in game five, but Medvedev still pulled away with some exceptional comebacks two games later for a 5-2 advantage.
Medvedev confidently served the first set to take a one-set lead in 36 minutes. The 2021 US Open champion had only lost serve twice all week and he kept that stat intact in the final.
The 27-year-old blasted a forehand winner to break 3-2 in the second set and he consolidated with ease as he marched to victory soon after.
Rublev is yet to successfully defend any of his 12 career titles but can take positives from his second-place finish this week in Dubai.
“I had great matches, great wins, I was supposed to lose in the second round,” said Rublev, who saved five straight match points when meeting Alejandro Davidovich Fokina earlier in the week.
“But in the end I found a way to stay alive until the final and then Daniil destroyed me tonight.
“Only four games, I don’t know how he does that, three titles in a row, it’s my first final of the season, I told him I was completely destroyed and he won three titles in a row.
“I don’t think I ever said that to Daniil face to face, but I have huge, huge respect for him.”
‘Not over yet,’ scribbled third-seeded Medvedev on the TV camera lens after his triumph, referring to his 14-game winning streak accumulated over the past 19 days, starting with the title in Rotterdam, followed by Doha and now Dubai. .
“It’s incredible because the start of the year has not been perfect; in tenniswhen you don’t win tournaments you always have doubts no matter what happens in training,” said Medvedev, who briefly dropped out of the top 10 last month before recovering tremendously.
“I doubted a lot and now it’s better. I’m really happy with these three weeks and I’m looking forward to the next ones.”
Playing fluid tennis throughout the week, earning him a coveted victory over world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals before ending Rublev’s title defense in the final, Medvedev shot a total of 119 winners in five games, including 27 in the championship decider.
“A lot of shots were taken in this tournament which maybe wasn’t meant to be, and sometimes that’s when the confidence goes down, so that helps a lot,” Medvedev said, who have now won their last four matches in a row against top 10 opponents after losing nine in a row.
Rublev was the winner of his two previous clashes with the arrival of Medvedev but had no answer for his compatriot on Saturday. He attempted to venture to the net, advancing 18 times, but only managed 12 of those approaches as Medvedev punished him from the back of the court.
“I think it was a very tactical game, I know Andrey can cause a lot of problems for everyone on tour. So every time we play he tries to hurt me, I try to hurt him. To make suffer.
“Today I managed to be on top, but the next games might be a different story,” said Medvedev, who leads his childhood friend 5-2 in head-to-head encounters. of the tour.
Former world number one Medvedev put Rublev under pressure on serve early on, and the No. 2 seed had to find a brave volley to fend off an early break point in the opener. But Medvedev still found a way to carve out a 3-1 opening.
Rublev saved two break points to hold in game five, but Medvedev still pulled away with some exceptional comebacks two games later for a 5-2 advantage.
Medvedev confidently served the first set to take a one-set lead in 36 minutes. The 2021 US Open champion had only lost serve twice all week and he kept that stat intact in the final.
The 27-year-old blasted a forehand winner to break 3-2 in the second set and he consolidated with ease as he marched to victory soon after.
Rublev is yet to successfully defend any of his 12 career titles but can take positives from his second-place finish this week in Dubai.
“I had great matches, great wins, I was supposed to lose in the second round,” said Rublev, who saved five straight match points when meeting Alejandro Davidovich Fokina earlier in the week.
“But in the end I found a way to stay alive until the final and then Daniil destroyed me tonight.
“Only four games, I don’t know how he does that, three titles in a row, it’s my first final of the season, I told him I was completely destroyed and he won three titles in a row.
“I don’t think I ever said that to Daniil face to face, but I have huge, huge respect for him.”
