Four things we learned from the Dubai Tennis Championships

An exciting fortnight of tennis has come to a close in Dubai with former world number one Daniil Medvedev securing his first triumph in the Emirates with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over his fellow Russian Andrey Rublev in Saturday’s final.

Here’s what we learned from the action during ATP week of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Medvedev is back

Doubts were swirling in Daniil Medvedev’s mind after he lost in straight sets in the Australian Open third round to Sebastian Korda in January.

Just 11 months earlier, the Russian was ranked No.1 in the world; suddenly he was outside the top 10 and feeling like he cannot win a match.

“I was feeling bad. I was doubting myself before Rotterdam. I was not feeling good at all,” said Medvedev on Saturday.

“I have a story. I went to one of the Russian guys getting ready for my match with [Alejandro] Davidovich Fokina. I won’t tell you who it is. I was like, ‘Come on, man, tell me how to win a match’.

“He was like, ‘You know better than me.’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t know anything at the moment.’”

That was mid-February. Medvedev hasn’t lost a match since, claiming 14 consecutive victories within a 19-day period, which earned him three titles in a row in Rotterdam, Doha and now Dubai.

“After every tournament now he’s texting me, ‘So is it okay now?’” Medvedev continued. “I feel ashamed. But that’s how tennis is. I managed to keep some confidence going and I’m really happy about it.”

Medvedev’s stay outside the top 10 was brief — only three weeks — but it sparked something in him and he will move back up to No.6 in the rankings on Monday, thanks to the 1,250 points he collected in his last three events.

His run in Dubai was the most impressive part of his hat-trick, as he