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Another classic battle in the Andy Murray-Novak Djokovic rivalry took place in the Qatar Open final.

In the 2016 Davis Cup semifinals, Andy Murray split his two singles matches as Great Britain fell to Argentina.

After that tie, Murray didn’t lose another match the rest of the year, finally ascending to No. 1 in the world after capturing five titles over the fall, a run that included two ATP Masters 1000 events and the year-end championship. In that final, he beat the player who was his biggest rival, the longtime No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

To kick off their 2017 campaigns, both players entered the Qatar Open in Doha, where Djokovic was the defending champion. The Serb advanced to the final by winning his first three matches in straight sets before being pushed to the brink by Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals. Murray, meanwhile, advanced to the championship round without the loss of a set.

Going into the match, there were questions on whether Djokovic would be fully up to the battle after his epic encounter against Verdasco, in which he had to save five match points. Murray had an early opportunity to take the advantage, earning a break point in the third game, but the world No. 1 was unable to convert. Djokovic shored up his game and closed out the set 6-3.

In the second set, the Serb, who took a scary tumble, earned three match points at 5-4, but Murray wasn’t done yet. The Scot managed to save them, winning that game and the next two to push the match into a decider.

After both players held serve through the first six games, it was Djokovic who struck first as he grabbed a break to lead 4-3. He maintained his advantage, and serving at 5-4, converted on his fourth championship point of the match, giving him his first title in six months.

1

Out of the 19 finals Djokovic and Murray played against each other, this was the first one that wasn’t contested at the ATP Masters 1000 or Grand Slam level.

3

The title here was only the third time Djokovic won an official tournament leading up to the Australian Open in his career, with the other victories coming in Brisbane in 2007 and Doha in 2016.

100

Murray's win over Tomas Berdych in the semifinals was the 100th of his career against a member of the Top 10.

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