Battling Andy Murray beaten by Daniil Medvedev in Qatar ExxonMobil Open final

Andy Murray’s stunning run at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open came to an end as he lost in straight sets to world number eight Daniil Medvedev in Saturday’s final in Doha.

The two-time Wimbledon champion found the encounter against the third seed a step too far as he was beaten 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes.

Murray, a wildcard entry into the tournament, had won all four of his previous matches this week in three sets.

He remarkably saved five match points in a draining semi-final against Jiri Lehecka and the 35-year-old former world number one needed to show his battling qualities again.

He pulled a break back after falling 4-1 down in the first set and did so again after going 3-1 down in the second, but this time a comeback was beyond him.

Medvedev replied with another break in the ninth game of the second set and duly held on to complete back-to-back tournament victories following last week’s triumph at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam.