Andy Murray's stellar week of competition at the Qatar Open came to a disappointing end as he lost in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev in Saturday's final.
The three-time Grand Slam winner - who had faced four three-setters en route to the showpiece match - lost 6-4 6-4 to the Russian in one hour and 46 minutes.
In typical Murray fashion, the Briton saved three break points with three winners in the opening game after falling 40-0 down, but Medvedev made no mistake on his fourth break opportunity.
Murray threatened to break back in the fourth game - missing two opportunities to do so before Medvedev broke again for a 4-1 lead, but Murray would break straight back to reduce the deficit.
However, the 35-year-old could not recover the first set, which Medvedev clinched with a love hold, and the Russian once again broke Murray's serve in the opening game of the second set.
The Russian held his two-game advantage until Murray broke back for 3-3, but a disastrous ninth game would prove fatal for Murray, who went 40-0 up before being broken for the fourth time.
Serving for the championship, third seed Medvedev double-faulted at 40-30 to bring Murray back into the contest at deuce, but he staved off a late comeback from the Brit to become the first player on the ATP Tour to win back-to-back titles in 2023, having also clinched glory in Rotterdam last week.
Ben Knapton
