Novak Djokovic sends message to Andrey Rublev & Jack Draper after Russian defeats Brit in Qatar Open final

Novak Djokovic sent a message to the 2025 Qatar Open finalists Andrey Rublev and Jack Draper after the conclusion of the tournament. Rublev beat Draper in a topsy-turvy encounter 7-5, 5-7, 6-1.

Taking to social media, Djokovic, who had lost in the opening round of the tournament, congratulated both men on a solid showing in Doha this week.

The Serb shared a snippet from the winning moment to send his congratulatory message to Rublev. He also praised Draper for putting up a good fight in the final and throughout the tournament.

Notably, Djokovic himself is a two-time former Qatar Open champion. In his appreciation for the tournament organizers, the former world No. 1 lauded their efforts for putting up a “great event” in the same Instagram story.

Screengrab of Novak Djokovic's Instagram story (Source: Djokernole Instagram)

"Congrats @andreyrublev, well played @jackdraper, and well done to @qataropen for organising another great event," Novak Djokovic wrote in his Instagram story.

Djokovic had started the tournament as one of the favorites for the title, but the third seed lost his opening-round encounter to Matteo Berrettini.

Berrettini eventually ran into Jack Draper in the quarterfinals, with the latter winning in three sets to move into the last four. With top seed Carlos Alcaraz also having lost to Jiri Lehecka, Draper was the biggest name left in the top half at that stage. He lived up to his billing and booked a spot in the final after beating Lehecka.

Rublev, meanwhile, also battled his way through to the final from the bottom half, getting the better of Alexander Bublik, Nuno Borges, and Alex De Minaur. In the final, he overcame a second-set stumble to lift the Qatar Open trophy for the second time in his career.

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Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev, and Jack Draper gear up for the Sunshine Double

Novak Djokovic is next expected to compete at the BNP Paribas Open. (Source: Getty)

Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev, and Jack Draper will now be gearing up for the Sunshine Double, set to commence with the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells next month.

All of the top 20 players barring World No. 1 Jannik Sinner (who is on a three-month doping suspension) feature on the entry list of the ATP1000 event. The biggest challenge for the trio will come from Carlos Alcaraz, who had lifted the title last year.

The BNP Paribas Open is immediately followed by the second half of the Sunshine Double, the Miami Open, which is also an ATP 1000 Masters event.