British no. 1 Jack Draper was defeated 7-5 5-7 6-1 Andrey Rublev in the finals of the Qatar open.
This is the second time that the fifth seed of Rublev won in Qatar, picking up the victory back in 2020, which is the first time he won the event twice.
It is also his 17th ATP Tour title on the tour and the sixth ATP 500 title, the eighth seed of Draper who fought in the second set, before he was well defeated in the third decision.
Rublev finished winning just over two hours, but despite the loss, his running to the last sees Draper to go to a new maximum of 12th place in the ATP rankings.
“I feel amazing,” Rublev said. “It’s my first title I won twice. I’m really happy. I think we were both very tired after two matches of three sets that ended late.
“We were exhausted and it was difficult, but somehow we managed to play on a good level. When I lost the second set, I let him play him freely.
“I played on a good level. At some moments I was really good mentally and I didn’t let frustration overcome me.
“As soon as I was frustrated, I managed to restart myself and managed to play with the same intensity. That’s the most important thing.”
“It’s an amazing week,” Draper said. “Andrey was too good today. We played some tough games this week, and in the third set he was just a little too strong for me.
“I’m really proud of my efforts this week. Every day I wake up and try to improve, so I suppose that is a testimony to my hard work.”
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