DOHA, Qatar — Andrey Rublev attributed his victory over Jack Draper to a strong mental focus, leading him to triumph with a score of 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 at the Qatar Open on Saturday, marking his second win at this tournament.

Rublev’s match was a continuation of his three-set encounters throughout the week, having secured victories in all of them over the span of three intense days. Notably, he had also dropped the second set in both of his prior matches against Alex de Minaur and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“I maintained a robust mental state throughout the match and didn’t allow frustration to take control,” Rublev remarked. “Whenever I felt frustrated, I found a way to reset and kept playing consistently at a high level. That was crucial for me.”

This victory brings Rublev’s career title count to 17, also marking his first time winning the Doha trophy twice, having first claimed it in 2020.

“This is the first title I’ve successfully defended,” he noted. “Both Jack and I were quite fatigued following two grueling three-set matches that went into the late hours. Despite the exhaustion, we managed to compete well. After losing the second set, I chose to let it go and began to play more freely.”

With this win, Rublev improved his record to 4-0 against Draper in their head-to-head matchups.

On the other hand, Draper, despite the loss, is poised to rise to a career-high ranking of No. 12 starting Monday.

“We faced some challenging matches this week, and in the final set, he just had the upper hand,” Draper commented. “I take pride in my performances this week. Each day, I strive for improvement, and this outcome reflects the dedication I’ve put in.”