Photo Source: TTV
2020 champion Andrey Rublev owned a 3-0 record against Jack Draper entering Sunday’s Dubai final, but the pair had not since the 2023 US Open.
“I’m definitely a different player since I last played him,” Draper said on Friday after taking out Jiri Lehecka in the semifinals.
Different player, same outcome, as Rublev bested the top Brit again to claimed his second Doha title, 7-5, 5-7, 6-1.
27-year-old Rublev, who saved a match point in the quarterfinals to defeat Alex De Minaur, claims his 17th ATP title and has now recorded multiple title wins at the same event for the first time in his career. He becomes the seventh man to win multiple titles at Doha."
"It feels amazing, I've never won the same title twice, so I'm really happy." He’s also the fourth man to save match points en route to a title in 2025, along with Alexandre Muller (Hong Kong), Joao Fonseca (Buenos Aires) and Miomire Kecmanovic (Delray Beach).
At 23 years and 2 months, British No. 1 Draper was aiming to be the youngest man to win the Doha title since Rublev, 22, in 2020. He rode a nine-match winning streak at ATP 500 events into the final, having won the title at Vienna last year.
Draper made a push, forcing a decider for the third consecutive round, but it wasn’t meant to be on this day.
The crisply played opening set went with serve until Draper served to force a tiebreak at 5-6, but the pressure proved to be too great for the Brit. He fell behind 0-40 before saving two set points, but Rublev produced an inspired forehand passing shot down the line to secure the set.
That forehand was Rublev’s 11th of the opening set, and his sixth off the forehand wing.
Draper followed the same script that got him through the quarterfinals (d. Berrettini) and semifinals (d. Lehecka), sticking with his game plan and turning up the heat in his return games to shift the momentum in the middle set. He broke in the 11th game of the second set for a 6-5 lead, leaving a visibly distraught Rublev left to ponder what had gone wrong.
Draper served out the set and looked to be the in-form player heading into the third, but the Russian regrouped quickly and took control of the decider.
How did he find the energy to dominate the decider so thoroughly.
"Both of us we were kind of exhausted and it was difficult," Rublev said. "When I lost second set somehow I just let everything go, and I started to play much better, much more free."
He broke for 2-0 and put another nail in the coffin two games later as he drilled a backhand return that Draper shanked into the stands for a double-break 4-0 lead.
Three games later it was over, Rublev had pulled away for one of the biggest victories of his career, but he is already focused on bigger and better things.
"I hope it's not my best week ever," he said. "I played a good level, I was in some moments really good mentally, not letting frustration get to me. I didn't drop much so that's the most important thing."