The world No. 6 held all 11 of his service games and saved the two break points he faced. She won 85 percent of her first serve points (40 of 47) and landed 70 percent of her first serves. Rublev, ranked 24th, hit four aces and saved five of his seven break points, but Medvedev converted two that decided the set.
It was Medvedev’s first win over a Top 25 player since beating world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semifinals. It also took his lead against them to 8-2. Their only previous final, in Dubai in 2023, also went to Medvedev, 6-2, 6-2.
Medvedev reached the final by defeating Chak Lam Coleman Wong 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3, France’s Valentin Royer 7-6 (6), 6-3 and Roman Safiulin 7-5, 6-4. Rublev beat France’s Cyrian Jacquet 7-6, 6-1 and Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-3, 6-3 before beating France’s Hugo Gaston 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-1 in the semifinals. Rublev was chasing his 19th title and second in 2026 after Bastad.
In terms of results, we are probably playing a little worse than before. We did the 500, 250 finals, now it’s time for one Masters 1000.
The two old friends exchanged warm words during the trophy presentation.
“First of all, Andrey, I think the same. After what we said in Dubai, we don’t need to repeat ourselves. I am really happy to see you in this final,” said Medvedev. “We’re probably playing a little bit worse than before in terms of results. We’ve had 500, 250 finals, now it’s time for one Masters 1000. And 5 years later, a helmet. I’m glad to see you in the final. Sorry I served you well today. I hope we can finish this season strong.”
“First of all, I want to say a few words to Daniel. Honestly, I don’t know what to say. After all these years, we said so many things to each other, so I don’t know what else to say,” said Rublev. “I just want to congratulate you and welcome your whole family. I hope we have many, many, many more memories in the future.”
