Andy Murray had nine lives at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, but he apparently spent all of them in the first four rounds.
Murray, who won a quartet of three-set matches earlier in the week and saved multiple match points in two of the four, finally met his match with the title on the line. Top seed Daniil Medvedev was too tough on Saturday evening, beating the 35-year-old Scot 6-4, 6-4 for his second title in as many weeks. Medvedev, who lifted the Rotterdam trophy last weekend, triumphed after one hour and 46 minutes.
Trailing by a set and a break, Murray showed signs of engineering yet another comeback when he broke back en route to a 4-4 deadlock in the second. The former world No. 1 then had a golden chance to go up 5-4, but he squandered a 40-0 lead on his own served and Medvedev reeled off five points in a row for the crucial break.
The world No. 8 served it out easily in the next game to clinch victory.
“It was an incredible week,” said Murray, who saved three match points in the first round against Lorenzo Sonego and fought off five in the semifinals against Jiri Lehecka. “Obviously it didn’t finish how I wanted, but I had some amazing matches here; created some great memories. It was fantastic to be back in a final here again and against an incredible player today.
“Daniil is one of my favorite players to watch and one of the best players on the tour. It’s great for me to get that opportunity to play against someone of his level in a final again. [There are] definitely some things to work on, but I’m proud of my week and the work that me and my team have put in to get me back to this stage.”
It has also been a comeback of sorts for Medvedev. The 27-year-old Russian recently dropped out of the top 10 on the heels of a 2022 slump, but the Rotterdam title took him to No. 8 and he will be seventh on Monday.
“I managed to find momentum in Rotterdam,” Medvedev commented. “The first two matches I played there were tough. I didn’t feel good before that tournament, and then starting in the quarterfinals against Felix (Auger-Aliassime), I started to find my rhythm. I started to play really [well]; serve better, move better.
“Today it was tough for Andy to put the balls through me many times. Now the question is (if it) can continue. I’m going to try as long as I can.”
too good, Meddy