Daniil Medvedev defied Andy Murray in the Qatar Open final to clinch a second title in seven days as the resurgent Russian won the battle of former world number ones.

In-form Medvedev scored a 6-4 6-4 victory on Saturday as he followed up last Sunday's title in Rotterdam with another trophy success.

Three-time grand slam winner Murray, set to jump 18 places to 52nd in the new rankings, had saved eight match points en route to the Doha final.

He pushed Medvedev hard but could not get the better of a player who will nudge up one spot to seventh in the rankings on Monday.

Murray came back from 0-40 in the opening game to force deuce, but he could not hold serve, and Medvedev soon broke again to lead 4-1.

But back came Murray, and the Briton had a break point to square up the opener at 4-4, only for Medvedev to cling on.

The second set also began with Murray dropping serve, but the 35-year-old levelled up at 3-3 with a backhand winner at the end of a terrific rally.

That raised his hopes of a full-scale fightback and a third title success at this event, plus a first tournament victory since 2019 in Antwerp, but Murray was broken from 40-0 in the ninth game, and that looked to end his hopes.

Murray saved a ninth match point of the week, albeit thanks to a double fault from his opponent, but the Scot could not do so for a 10th time, with a lob from Medvedev giving him a big win and the 17th tour-level title of his career.

Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, told Amazon Prime Video in a courtside interview: "It was a very tough match. I'm happy to win, today was a big fight.

"Both of us sometimes were playing bad, then suddenly both of us were playing amazing, and I'm happy to win.

"It was tough for Andy to put the ball through me many times. Now it has to continue, so I'm going to try for as long as I can."

Andy Murray and Daniil Medvedev sealed their place in the Qatar Open semi-finals while top seed Andrey Rublev was upset 4-6 6-4 6-3 by Jiri Lehecka.

Rublev won this tournament in 2020 and looked to be on his way to the final four after a strong opening set put him ahead.

But Lehecka battled back in the second to level the match and then found a crucial break in the second game of the deciding set to seize the advantage.

It was a lead he would not relinquish, holding his nerve despite watching a pair of match points come and go to clinch victory and knock out the world number five.

Lehecka will meet Murray in the semi-finals after the Brit came from a set down to see off Alexandre Muller 4-6 6-1 6-2 and keep his hopes of winning the Qatar Open for a third time alive after back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009.

A tough opener had Murray facing a deficit against the world number 170, but a typically gutsy display saw him pull off the comeback and reach his first tour-level semi-final since June 2022, when he lost in the Stuttgart Open final to Matteo Berrettini.

Medvedev sealed his place in the final four with a hard-fought 6-2 4-6 7-5 win over Christopher O'Connell.

The world number eight triumphed for the seventh straight match, but did not have it all his own way against his Australian opponent, needing a crucial break with the final set tied at five games each to put himself back into the ascendancy.

Felix Auger-Aliassime awaits Medvedev in the next round after prevailing over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets.

The world number nine out-aced his opponent eight to two to author a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) victory after one hour and 48 minutes, and he will look to improve on his dismal record against Medvedev on Friday, having lost all five of his meetings against the Russian.

At the Open 13 Provence, top seed Hubert Hurkacz reached the quarter-final after rallying from a set down to see off Leandro Riedi 4-6 6-3 6-2.

Second seed Jannik Sinner was forced to withdraw through illness, sending wildcard Frenchman Arthur Fils into the final eight, where he will meet Stan Wawrinka.

Alex De Minaur teed up a clash with Benjamin Bonzi by cruising past Alexander Ritschard 6-3 6-3, while world number 25 Grigor Dimitrov will play Alexander Bublik on Friday after beating Gijs Brouwer in straight sets.

Andrey Rublev and Andy Murray battled to outlast their opponents at the Qatar Open, while Daniil Medvedev breezed into the quarter-finals.

Top seed Rublev, who won this tournament in 2020, responded to a first-set setback to rally to a 1-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6) win over Tallon Griekspoor on Wednesday.

The world number five was staring at a fourth opening-round defeat in five appearances this year but saved three match points en route to fighting back from 5-2 down in the decider.

Murray and fourth seed Alexander Zverev played out another three-set thriller in the Middle East, with the former world number one triumphing 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 7-5.

That clash lasted three hours and three minutes in another marathon match for Murray after defeating Italian Lorenzo Sonego in a final-set tie-break in the first round.

Medvedev (3) had no such difficulty in a comfortable 6-4 6-3 victory over world number 147 Liam Broady.

Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime had to regain his composure during his debut in Doha, but ultimately prevailed 4-6 6-1 6-4 against Jason Kubler.

World number eight Auger-Aliassime had lost his only previous meeting with Kubler, and an upset was on the cards after the Canadian was broken in the third game and was unable to recover.

Yet he found his form with a blistering second set, reeling off five straight games to restore parity and keeping his cool in the decider.

That victory teed up a last-eight meeting with seventh seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who downed Kwon Soon-woo 6-3 6-2.

Jiri Lehecka will meet favourite Rublev after beating Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2 7-6 (7-2), while Botic Van De Zandschulp was shocked by world number 170 Alexandre Muller in a straight-sets defeat.

Elsewhere at the Open 13 Provence, fifth seed Maxime Cressy fell to a surprise second-round elimination after a 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3 loss to home favourite Benjamin Bonzi.

There was no such luck for the other Frenchmen in Marseille as Alexander Bublik eased past Gregoire Barrere, while Stan Wawrinka beat Richard Gasquet 4-6 7-5 6-2 to reach the last eight.

Emil Ruusuvuori consigned Dan Evans to a first-round exit at the Qatar Open with a straight-sets victory on Tuesday.

Finn Ruusuvuori ousted the sixth seed with a 7-5 6-4 victory in Doha with a powerful display.

There were 26 winners from the racket of Ruusuvuori, who had only come out on top in one of his previous eight matches against top-30 opponents.

Ruusuvuori's next assignment will be a meeting with Jiri Lehecka, who saw off qualifier Damir Dzumhur 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

Roberto Bautista Agut, the fifth seed from Spain, saw the back of Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (9-7) 5-7 6-4.

Botic van de Zandschulp, Tallon Griekspoor and Soonwoo Kwon also made it through to round two.

Maxime Cressy had to dig deep to make it out of the first round of the Open 13, beating Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4).

The fifth seed from the United States was joined in the last 16 by David Goffin, who defeated qualifier Lukas Klein 6-2 6-4.

Eighth seed Marc-Andrea Huesler made an early departure after going down in straight sets to Gregoire Barrere in Marseille.

Andy Murray saved three match points before seal a thrilling comeback victory over Lorenzo Sonego at the Qatar Open.

Making his first competitive appearance since his run to the third round of the Australian Open, Murray rallied after losing the first set to clinch a 4-6 6-1 7-6 (7-4) win in Monday's first-round contest.

The three-time grand slam winner – given a wildcard for the event in Doha – was the master of his own downfall in the opener as a double-fault handed Sonego the decisive break.

Having failed to force a single break point in the first set, Murray dominated the second but was facing an early exit when Sonego forced three match points in the decider, only for the momentum to swing again as the former world number one took it to a tie-break.

Sonego raced into a 3-0 lead, but Murray again came roaring back, squandering one match point when he flicked a backhand into the net but making no mistake second time around.

Murray will face fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the second round, as he bids to reach his first tour-level quarter-final of the season.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina saw off Constant Lestienne 6-4 6-3, while Murray's fellow Brit Liam Broady saw off qualifier Oleksii Krutykh 6-0 4-6 7-6 (7-2).

Australian duo Jason Kubler and Christopher O'Connell also progressed in Doha.

Stan Wawrinka moved into the last 16 of the Open 13 with a 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 victory over Zizou Bergs.

Benjamin Bonzi and Alexander Bublik were the other first-round winners, ousting Luca Van Assche and Filip Krajinovic respectively in Marseille.

Roberto Bautista Agut ended his title drought by gaining revenge over Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final of the Qatar Open on Saturday.

Basilashvili beat Bautista Agut in the championship match in Doha last year, but the Spaniard came out on top on this occasion, winning 6-3 6-4.

The experienced second seed had not won a tournament since he was crowned Qatar Open champion in 2019, before repeating that feat with a straight-sets success.

Bautista Agut came from a break down in both sets to win the 10th ATP title of his career at the expense of the third seed from Georgia.

The 33-year-old world number 16 dropped only one set this week en route to getting his hands on another trophy.

He said: "It was a really tough final. This year we played without wind, which was much better for me.

"It was not easy to recover after a really tough battle yesterday [in a semi-final win over Karen Khachanov], but I think I did a good job today.

"It is my 10th ATP Tour title and I am very happy."

Denis Shapovalov crashed out of the Qatar Open after losing in straight sets to France's Arthur Rinderknech in their quarter-final on Thursday.

The top-seeded Canadian lost in just an hour and 20 minutes as Rinderknech sealed a 6-4 6-4 victory to seal his place in the semi-finals in Doha.

Shapovalov struggled throughout, making nine double faults and having to face 10 break points, of which he managed to save eight.

Rinderknech will now face Nikoloz Basilashvili after the Georgian fought back to beat Marton Fucsovics 1-6 6-3 7-5.

The other semi-final will see Karen Khachanov take on Roberto Bautista Agut, with the Russian also coming from a set down in beating Marin Cilic 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Bautista Agut followed up Wednesday's 6-0 6-1 victory against Andy Murray by again winning comfortably against fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, scoring a 6-1 6-1 success.

The number two seed won 74 per cent of points when landing his first serve as he sealed victory in an hour and 17 minutes.

At the Open 13 in Marseille, Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime increased his winning streak to six matches after beating French veteran Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 to head through to the quarter-finals.

"It was a special moment," Auger-Aliassime said after his win. "When the match was coming to the end, I knew it was going to be a special moment, a full-circle moment. He was my top idol growing up and I saw myself in him at times."

Auger-Aliassime will play world number 49 Ilya Ivashka next, while top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas also went through after a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) win against Hugo Gaston. The Greek star will play Russian Roman Safiullin in the last eight.

Ninth seed Benjamin Bonzi beat fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4 6-3 and will go up against Aslan Karatsev in the next round, while Lucas Pouille overcame Radu Albot 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-2) and will tackle Andrey Rublev next.

Andy Murray suffered one of the heaviest losses of his career in the second round of the Qatar Open, while Andrey Rublev escaped an early exit at the Open 13. 

Former world number one Murray went down 6-0 6-1 to last year's runner-up Roberto Bautista Agut in Doha on Wednesday. 

It was just the fourth occasion in which the three-time major champion has lost a match while winning only one game or fewer in his career – the last time being a defeat by the same scoreline to Roger Federer at the ATP Finals in 2014. 

Murray's fellow Briton Dan Evans also endured a second-round loss, going down 4-6 7-5 6-4 to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina – Bautista Agut's next opponent. 

Denis Shapovalov bounced back from his first-round loss to Jiri Lehecka in Rotterdam last week by dropping just eight points on serve as he claimed a 6-4 6-0 victory over Alex Molcan inside 52 minutes. 

Next up for the Canadian will be Arthur Rinderknech after the Frenchman came from a set down to defeat seventh seed Alexander Bublik 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4. 

Nikoloz Basilashvili faced little trouble in overcoming Elias Ymer 6-4 7-5 and his reward is a quarter-final against Marton Fucsovics, who got the better of Kwon Soon-woo. 

Karen Khachanov and Marin Cilic will meet in the last eight after they respectively eliminated Emil Ruusuvuori and Botic van de Zandschulp. 

In Marseille, second seed Rublev was made to work hard for a place in the Open 13 quarter-finals by home hope Richard Gasquet. 

Gasquet went a break up in the third set and, after surrendering his advantage, stopped Rublev serving out the match to force a tie-break. 

However, the world number seven did not waste his next opportunity as he sealed a 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) success. 

Aslan Karatsev also booked his place in the last eight, while there were wins for Frenchmen Benjamin Bonzi and Lucas Pouille too. 

Andy Murray made a winning start at the Qatar Open after defeating Taro Daniel 6-2 6-2 in Doha.

The three-time grand slam winner was beaten in straight sets when he faced Daniel in the second round at the Australian Open last month.

But he avenged that defeat with a dominant display against the world number 110 that saw him prevail in one hour and 20 minutes.

Murray boasts an impressive record at the ATP 250 event, lifting the trophy in 2008 and 2009 while reaching a further two finals (2007 and 2017).

And the 34-year-old wildcard will face second seed Roberto Bautista Agut in round two.

"Taro played very well in Australia," Murray said. "He had a very good run there and was too good for me there. 

"I tried to be the one dictating from the first point, and I thought I did that well. It was one of the better matches I've played in recent months.

"Obviously, the results from years ago aren't going to affect the results this week.

"But what it tells me is that the conditions here are good for my game, so if I can play to a good level, the courts are going to suit me here, and I'll make it difficult for everyone I play against."

Elsewhere, seventh seed Alexander Bublik hit 25 winners – including seven aces – in a 6-2 6-4 victory over Slovakia's Jozef Kovalik.

However, there was no joy for Lloyd Harris; the eighth seed was beaten in straight sets by Hungarian Marton Fucsovics for the second year running.

Over at Open 13 in Marseille, three-time winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame fellow wildcard Gilles Simon 6-2 6-4 in the battle of the players boasting five titles between them at the event.

But seventh seed Alexei Popyrin lost out in a deciding-set tie-break to world number 163 Roman Safiullin.

Dan Evans and Karen Khachanov made strong starts at the Qatar Open on Monday, while top seed Denis Shapovalov learned who his first opponent will be. 

After just over an hour and a half, fifth seed Evans sealed a 6-4 6-4 victory over Egor Gerasimov in their first meeting on the ATP Tour. 

Evans won 85 per cent of points behind his first serve and did not face a single break point as he advanced to the second round. Malek Jaziri or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will be his next opponent. 

Following a tight opening set, Khachanov overcame Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to continue his impressive form early in the 2022 season.

Alex Molcan came from a set down and navigated a second-set tie-break to defeat Chris O'Connell and earn a meeting with Shapovalov in the second round. 

At the Open 13 in Marseille, home hope Richard Gasquet overcame Mikael Ymer 6-4 7-5 to book a meeting with Andrey Rublev in the second round. There were also wins for Stefano Travaglia and Ilya Ivashka. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas saw his hopes of a hat-trick of titles at the Open 13 Provence ended by a shock quarter-final defeat on Friday.

The second seed was upset by French world number 93 Pierre-Hugues Herbert, as the doubles expert scored a 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-2 win.

Herbert had won only one singles match on tour in 2021 before this week, but Kei Nishikori and Cameron Norrie fell to the 29-year-old in the early rounds before he stunned world number five Tsitsipas.

It was a first career win in singles over a player ranked in the world's top five for Herbert, and he said: "It has been an incredible week for me so far, especially this match."

Quoted on the ATP website, Herbert added: "I knew I was going to have to play an amazing match to have a chance to win and I managed to do that. I am really happy about the way I played. I am so happy to be in the semi-finals here."

A French finalist is guaranteed as Herbert will face compatriot Ugo Humbert in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Humbert beat another Frenchman, world number 138 Arthur Rinderknech, in a tight contest, saving a match point and coming through 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 36 minutes.

Russian top seed Daniil Medvedev chased off the threat of Jannik Sinner at this indoor event for the second year running, securing a 6-2 6-4 success against the Italian teenager.

Their only two career meetings have come in Marseille, and Medvedev bossed this encounter, taking three of his five break chances and holding serve throughout.

He will face Australian Matthew Ebden in the final four after the world number 287 earned an eye-catching 4-6 6-4 6-2 win over Russian third seed Karen Khachanov, who was champion in 2018 in Marseille.

At the Qatar Open, Nikoloz Basilashvili backed up his three-set win over Roger Federer by reaching the final of the tournament.

The Georgian scored a 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 semi-final victory over American Taylor Fritz in a clash of two unseeded players.

Basilashvili will tackle Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut for the title on Saturday after the fifth seed ousted Russian third seed Andrey Rublev.

A 6-3 6-3 win for Bautista Agut nudged the man from Castellon de la Plana into a 3-2 career head-to-head lead over his Muscovite opponent.

Roger Federer's return to the ATP Tour lasted just two matches at the Qatar Open as he was beaten in the last eight by the brilliant Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Dan Evans is putting friendship aside after earning a blockbuster showdown against returning superstar Roger Federer at the Qatar Open.

Federer has not played competitively since his semi-final exit at the 2020 Australian Open – the 20-time grand slam champion having undergone knee surgery last year.

But the 39-year-old Swiss great will make his long-awaited comeback against Evans in Doha on Wednesday.

Evans – who has been practicing with Federer – outlasted Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4 1-6 6-2 in the round of 32 at the ATP 250 tournament.

"We obviously practised for [the] past two weeks [in Dubai], and I thought he was playing pretty well," Evans said. "We played plenty of sets. It was competitive. But it's all very different when you get on the match court.

"It will be a lot different tomorrow. It's going to be at night, as well, so a little slower. So we'll see how the match goes."

Second seed Federer – a record three-time Qatar Open champion – watched from the stands on Tuesday and Evans added: "He obviously has seen a lot of my game the past few weeks, so I guess I would say it was more out of boredom.

"He's probably [was] waiting for his practice [more] than scouting out what's happening on the court. Let's put it down to that."

Elsewhere, sixth seed David Goffin topped Filip Krajinovic 6-4 6-4 en route to the last 16 but three-time slam champion Stan Wawrinka was stunned 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 by qualifier Lloyd Harris.

Marton Fucsovics, Vasek Pospisil and Malek Jaziri also advanced through to the next round.

At the Open 13 Province, three-time champion and French veteran Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrated his first ATP Tour victory since 2019.

Tsonga – hampered by injuries, including left knee surgery –rallied from the brink to see off Feliciano Lopez 3-6 6-4 7-5 in Marseille on Tuesday.

"This is probably one of the best victories of my career, because it was tough for me to play tennis. I had so much pain for so many months," Tsonga said in an on-court interview. "Today, I won one match. That was one of my goals for these few weeks… I’m happy like a kid."

Next up is fourth-seeded countryman Ugo Humbert, who upstaged sixth seed Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-4.

Meanwhile, Federico Coria and Federico Delbonis were among the victors at the Chile Open.

Roberto Bautista Agut rallied from a set down to defeat Reilly Opelka 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the Qatar Open.

Bautista Agut, who is the fifth seed in a draw featuring Dominic Thiem, Roger Federer and Andrey Rublev, was the highest ranked player in action in the round of 32 and fell behind to world number 39 Opelka.

Yet, the Spaniard pulled out his familiar battling qualities to prevailed over the big-serving American, who held sway 22-6 in the aces count.

Nevertheless, Bautista Agut was still able to fashion 11 break points over the course of the contest, converting one apiece decisively in sets two and three.

Alexander Bublik took the notion of big serves not being a decisive factor to an extreme as he popped in an underarm to fine effect on match point – qualifier Ramkumar Ramanathan scampering to thump his return out and conclude a 6-4 6-2 loss against Bautista Agut's next opponent.

The match between world number 42 Nikoloz Basilashvili and 41John Millman was as close as the rankings suggested, with the Georgian coming back to win 2-6 6-4 6-2.

Richard Gasquet and Taylor Fritz were straight-sets winners, with Rublev up next for Gasquet.

At this week's other ATP 250 event, the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka bowed out when he retired 2-6 2-4 down to Emil Ruusuvuori.

Wildcard Hugo Gaston beat Dennis Novak 3-6 6-4 6-1 to claim a notable scalp.

Top seed Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Karen Khachanov and Ugo Humbert will enter the fray in the last 16.

Former world number one Roger Federer said he has no real expectations for his comeback event at the Qatar Open.

Federer has not played competitively since his semi-final exit at the 2020 Australian Open – the 20-time grand slam champion having undergone knee surgery last year.

The 39-year-old Swiss superstar opted not to travel to Melbourne for this year's Australian Open, but he is set to make his comeback in Doha.

Federer, who holds the record for most Qatar Open titles with three – will start his campaign against either Jeremy Chardy or Daniel Evans at the ATP 250 tournament.

"It's been a long year in some ways, especially rehabbing, being on crutches once and then for a second time, and finally I'm back on a tennis court again, working out, playing sets, playing points," Federer said.

"It's a true pleasure, it's a privilege actually after all this time. I didn't expect it to go as long as it did, we are where we are, I'm so excited to be back on a match court, you know, in a few days here.

"I'm really curious to find out how it's going to go, obviously there's an amazing amount of questions marks surrounding my comeback for me personally.

"I don't know what to expect, I know that expectations from myself are extremely low, and I'm just very happy that I'm playing a tournament again, regardless of the outcome of this event."

On whether he had doubts over returning, Federer added: "You always do have doubts, you know, when you have surgery, there are always days when you feel better and worse. But I think overall I am a very positive person, I have a great team around myself, my family, I am also very distracted, and you know, the idea was to be fully fit again, one day. For life or for tennis.

"So equally important to me, actually life is a little bit more important to me, I wanna go skiing and play basketball, I wanna go playing ice hockey, play tennis in the future, with my children or exhibition matches, you name it, so it's definitely worth it to go through all that pain you know. But the goal was, this is not I'm going to go out, I'm not happy with my knee, we're going to fix it, and then I'm going to come back.

"For me there was no other story to it, and rehab wasn't as hard as maybe people make it seem, even though people around me are very impressed how I go about it, but for me it's only but normal to be really, really professional about it."