Two-time champion suffered an early loss in the singles competition at the ATP 500 event in Doha.
Matteo Berrettini advanced to the second round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open by defeating no.3 seed Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (4), 6-2, at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on Tuesday.
The first set was a tight battle. Berrettini delivered a high-quality display to take it by winning a tie-break 7-4.
Djokovic did not start well in the second set, dropping a game on his serve, that saw Berrettini pull away – first to 3-0 and then to 5-2 – to finish the match in style with another break of serve in the eighth game.
The 95-minute victory over the 24-time Grand Slam titlist, was the Italian’s first triumph in their ATP H2H series (1-4).
Match statistics: aces (9-13), double faults (1-1), winners (21-33), unforced errors (18-23), total points won (59-69).
Fernando Verdasco’s career came to an end when the Spaniard and Novak lost their doubles quarter-final to second seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 5-7, 4-6.
Photo: Profimedia
