Three weeks, three titles: Daniil Medvedev dominant in Dubai final against Andrey Rublev

WATCH: Daniil Medvedev defeats Andrey Rublev in the 2023 Dubai final

Daniil Medvedev turned up the heat on his torrid run of form as he raced past compatriot Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, lifting his third trophy in as many weeks on Saturday.

The Russian also extended his winning streak to 14 matches in a row, adding the ATP 500-level title—his 18th overall—to his haul after his victories in Rotterdam and Doha.

“It’s amazing, because the start of the year was not perfect. In tennis, when you don’t win tournaments you are always doubting no matter what happens in practice,” Medvedev said in a post-match interview. “So I was doubting a lot, and now it just feels better.

“I’m really happy with these three weeks, and I’m looking forward to the next ones.”

Medvedev, who didn’t drop a set all week—including against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals—was in imperious form against good friend Rublev, the defending champion. His highly defensive baseline game absorbed Rublev’s pace, redirecting it back to his opponent as Medvedev patrolled the baseline from almost-out-of-camera-view-territory.

Rublev showed flashes of the growing variety in his game, going to net 14 times and winning on nine occasions in an attempt to disrupt the rhythm of their long rallies. But his execution was at times lacking—and against a peaking Medvedev, there was little room for error.

Despite being under pressure from Rublev’s booming forehand, Medvedev kept the score card clean by hitting just eight unforced errors—none from the backhand side—and balanced them out with 22 winners. Rublev hit nearly three times as many unforced errors as Medvedev with 22, and his 13 winners weren’t enough to keep pace as the world No. 7 began to pull away.

But the serve was the biggest difference-maker on Saturday, as Medvedev regularly pounced on his opponent’s vulnerable second serve and left Rublev to win just 29 percent of those points in the match. Medvedev, in turn, won 83 percent of points behind his first serve and Rublev was unable to generate any break point opportunities across both sets.

After celebrating the victory on his second match point, Medvedev took a marker and signed the camera lens with an ominous warning for the tour: “Not over yet.” Message received.