“They call me Picasso!” Andrey Rublev once joked in 2023 while unveiling his ‘holiday-themed’ wrapping job on his tennis racquet. Back then, as a 12-time tour-level champion, the Russian surely had aspirations of becoming tennis’ own Picasso. Fast forward to yesterday, and the World No. 10 turned his artistry into dominance, clinching his second Doha title with a commanding victory over Jack Draper! And, his masterpiece on the court didn’t go unnoticed as none other than 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, a tennis Picasso himself, shared his heartfelt congratulations for the newly crowned winner of the Qatar Open.

Rublev’s 2025 season didn’t start the way he had hoped. He crashed out in the first round of the AO, losing to Joao Fonseca in straight sets and although he made it to the QF in Rotterdam, he fell to Hubert Hurkacz despite winning the first set there. At the Open Occitanie, however, he reached the semis and when he arrived in Qatar, eventually everything seemed to fall into place! From his R32 match onward, Rublev was on a mission. He navigated through the draw with confidence, even overcoming a tight SF battle against Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime. Then came the ultimate test, a final showdown against Britain’s Jack Draper, where Rublev held a 3-0 head-to-head advantage before coming to the match. And what a final it was!

Despite Draper’s fierce start, Rublev edged out the first set and won 7-5. The Brit, however, roared back in the second set, grinding out a 7-5 win of his own to force a decider in the third. But when it mattered most, the 27-year-old Russian flipped the switch. He dominated the third set 6-1, firing 34 winners across the match and wrapping up the battle in just two hours and six minutes. And, with this emphatic victory, the recently promoted 10th rank clinched his second Doha title, after 2020, as he extended his head-to-head record against Draper to 4-0 as well! And right after the match, Novak Djokovic stepped in, sharing his heartfelt congratulations for Rublev.

Just as the match ended, TennisTV shared the winning moment of Rublev in a short video, captioning it, “Doha Delight! 🏆 The moment @andreyrublev defeated Draper to win a second career title in Doha.” And, Novak re-shared the video in his Instagram stories, adding, “Congrats @andreyrublev”. He also congratulated Draper, quoting, “Well played @jackdraper” while thanking the Qatar tennis adding, “And well done to @qatartennis for organising another great event.”

Novak didn’t have a great time in Qatar himself. The tournament proved exceptionally challenging for top-ranked players in general; Jannik Sinner withdrew before the commencement of the event as he was banned by WADA, and both Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz experienced unexpected early defeats. For Djokovic, the disappointment ran even deeper as the Serbian GOAT endured a shocking first-round defeat to Matteo Berrettini in straight sets, marking his first-ever loss to the Italian. And just when things couldn’t get worse, a Spanish outlet ‘As Más Deporte’ caught the Serbian limping at Doha’s airport, raising fears of a lingering injury: one eerily similar to the issue he sustained during his AO quarterfinal while playing against Carlos Alcaraz.

Coming back to Rublev nonetheless, the Russian has achieved his sixth ATP 500 title, exceeding his British equivalent, Jack Draper, by a margin of three. And, after the game, he commented on lifting the trophy for the second time in Doha.

“It feels amazing” — Andrey Rublev on his Qatar Open win

“Rublo at the double in Doha!” The title in Doha was Rublev’s seventeenth on the ATP Tour: his first since April 2024. In a long-awaited rematch against Draper, their first encounter since the 2023 US Open R16, the Russian delivered a commanding performance. Despite Draper’s red-hot form in the tournament and an evenly poised game till the second set, Rublev stormed to a 5-0 lead in the deciding set, breaking twice early. While the British managed to avoid a bagel, Rublev sealed the victory with two thunderous aces to claim the trophy at the end.

The Russian’s triumph in Doha is also part of a broader trend in the new season, where four players, including Rublev, have saved match points on their path to glory! The Russian now joins ‘Alexandre Muller’ (Hong Kong), ‘Joao Fonseca’ (Buenos Aires), and ‘Miomir Kecmanović’ (Delray Beach) in this elite club. And, with this title, he finally puts an end to his struggles since reaching the ‘2024 Montreal’ final. As he reigns supreme in the Middle East, the Russian took a moment to reflect on his journey at the tournament and the decisive last match that reignited his winning ways in quite a fashion.

“It feels amazing. It’s the first time I’ve won the same title twice,” the delighted Russian said. “I’m really happy. I don’t know what else to say. We were exhausted and it was difficult, but somehow we were able to play at a good level. When I lost the second set, I let it go and started to play more freely. I was really good mentally and didn’t let frustration get over me. As soon as I was frustrated, I was able to start again and I was able to play at the same intensity,“ he said post-match.

Andrey Rublev and Jack Draper are both slated to compete in the Sunshine Double now, commencing with the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Do you think the Russian will continue his form there? Share your thoughts below!