The lanky Medvedev played some promising shots to edge past Murray 6-4, 6-4 in the tepid Doha weather. The loss to the Russian came in Murray’s fifth Qatar Open final and the first since losing to Novak Djokovic six years ago.
Third-seed Medvedev had defeated second seed Felix Auger-Alissaime of Canada on Friday to reach the final, while Murray beat 21-year-old rising star Jiri Lehecka in the
semifinal.
The tournament is a major draw on the sports calendar of the country that recently hosted the FIFA World Cup, the first one by a Middle East nation.
Meanwhile, the Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation is drawing a plan to upgrade the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Tennis Championship from the ATP 250 series to ATP 500, media reports said.
–IANS
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