Tennis

Medvedev beats Rublev in Dubai for hard-court hat-trick

March 5, 2023 6:18 am

Daniil Medvedev. [Source: Reuters]

Daniil Medvedev continued his impressive form with a win 6-2 6-2 over compatriot Andrey Rublev in the Dubai 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 over 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.

Article continues after advertisement

The 27-year-old, who sent down nine aces and converted 57% of the breakpoints he won in the final, moves sixth in the ATP rankings, while Rublev drops to number seven.

Former U.S. Open champion Medvedev next travels to the United States where he will look to continue his winning run at Indian Wells from March 19 to April 2.