Andy Murray remains the only British man in history to win the Qatar Open.
In 2008, Murray defeated Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to win the title, securing himself a top 12 seed at the 2008 Australian Open.
Murray, who had lost the 2007 final to Iva Ljubicic, achieved what Tim Henman could not. Henman, a former British number one, twice made the final in 1997 and 1999 but lost to Jim Courier and Rainer Schuttler.
After defeating Wawrinka in the 2008 final, Murray reflected on the hard work he had put in ahead of the tournament, while also noting that he had pushed himself to his physical limits during the final.
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Andy Murray’s reaction to winning the 2008 Qatar Open
As per the Irish Times, Murray said: “It’s good to win another title, and it’s been great preparation for the Australian Open.
“Stan played pretty good and made me do a lot of running. I don’t know how much longer I could have run for.
“I did a lot of running and I am going to be stiff tomorrow, but I am really happy that I came through.”
“I worked really hard in the off-season, on my fitness and on my tennis,” the Briton added, as per the Taipei Times. “It’s the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life so I’m happy it paid off this week.”
A year later, Murray defended his Qatar Open title.
Murray defeated Albert Montanes, Philip Petzschner and Sergiy Stakhovsky to reach the semi-final stage, before knocking out Roger Federer, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2.
In the final, Murray defeated Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-2.
The three-time major champion reached the final once more. In 2017, he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in three sets, 3-6, 7-5, 4-6.
In 2023, Daniil Medvedev defeated Murray 6-4, 6-4 in the championship match.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| One | Olivier Rochus | 6-0, 6-2 |
| Two | Rainer Schuttler | 1-6, 6-0, 6-1 |
| Quarter-final | Thomas Johansson | 7-5, 6-3 |
| Semi-final | Nikolay Davydenko | 6-4, 6-3 |
| Final | Stan Wawrinka | 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 |
Stan Wawrinka’s reaction to the 2008 Qatar Open final
After losing the final, Wawrinka was his usual gracious self in defeat, praising Murray’s progress as a player.
He said: [Murray] improved a lot last year, and I think he’s going to be much better. It’s very difficult to play against him, to come to the net or to stay back.”
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Despite reaching the final in 2008, Wawrinka has failed to make it back to the same stage since.
Wawrinka, who is still competing on the Tour at 40 years old, made his final appearance at the Rotterdam Open on Thursday after losing to Alex de Minaur.
Wawrinka is expected to retire from his playing career at the end of this season. However, he was recently tipped to extend his career into 2027.
