Medvedev beats Murray in final to win Doha on debut No 1 Swiatek upset by Krejcikova in Dubai final Alcaraz and Norrie into Rio semis, eye 2nd final in 2 weeks

DOHA, Qatar. Daniil Medvedev made his debut at the Qatar Open by defeating Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4 in the former No. 1s’ final match on Saturday.

Medvedev implemented fast starts in every set. He went 4-1 in the first and 3-1 in the second.

Murray fought back, but Medvedev choked him to earn his 17th singles title.

“Sometimes we played badly, and then all of a sudden we both played amazingly,” Medvedev said. “I’m happy to win.”

Medvedev also won in Rotterdam last weekend and is on a nine-game winning streak.

After playing in a record-breaking fifth final in Doha, Murray said: “It was great to play the final here again against an incredible player. Daniil is one of my favorite players and one of the best players on the tour. It’s great for me to get the opportunity to play again against someone of his level in the final.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Ranked No. 1 Iga Sviatek lost 6-4, 6-2 to Barbora Krejcikova in the final of the Dubai Championship on Saturday.

Krejcikova ended the tournament by beating top three WTA players: #3 Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals, #2 Arina Sobalenko in the semi-finals, then Swiatek. No. 8 Daria Kasaktina was also defeated in the second round.

The Czech is the fifth woman in the Open Era to beat the top three in the world in the same tournament.

Krejcikova dominated the final, beating Swiatek five times. The Polish girl earned two breaks in the first set, but Kreychikova then played a love break and kept the love until the set.

In the second, she made a 2-1 and 5-2 break and served easily to win her sixth singles title.

Her previous title came in October when she beat Swiatek for the first time in the Ostrava final.

RIO DE JANEIRO. The Rio Open final will feature a rematch between Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie.

Both advanced to the clay court semi-finals on Friday and could repeat last weekend’s decider in Argentina, which the Spaniard won.

Reigning Rio Open champion Alcaraz beat Dusan Lajovic 6:4, 7:6 (0). He will face Nicolás Jarry, who beat Sebastian Baez 6-3, 7-6 (3).

The Chilean was banned for doping for 11 months in 2020 and has been trying to move up the rankings since February last year. His best ranking was #38, but today he is #139.

Once again, the 19-year-old Alcaraz didn’t play his best tennis in Brazil as he did in his first two matches, but still prevailed. Unforced errors, difficulties with the first serve and less than usual energy were visible throughout the Spaniard’s match with Lajovic.

Alcaraz, who won last year’s US Open in his first major tournament, is playing his second tournament after suffering a right foot injury that sidelined him for four months.

Alcaraz and Jarry never played each other on tour.

“I feel like I’m physically at a great level, playing hard, demanding matches day after day,” Alcaraz said. “Last year I was at a great level, winning here in Miami at other tournaments. Obviously, I can still improve what I’m doing now.”

Runner-up Norrie beat Bolivian player Hugo Dellien 4–6, 6–1, 6–4. The Brit’s next opponent will be Bernabé Zapata Miralles, who beat Spanish compatriot Albert Ramos-Vignolas 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

“I had a very slow start, didn’t make many returns, which is quite unlike me,” Norrie said. “I was lucky to be patient.”