Matteo Berrettini from Italy surprised everyone by defeating the third seed, Novak Djokovic, with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the first round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open held in Doha on Tuesday. This was the first time Berrettini won against Djokovic in five tries! It was also his first win against a top-10 player since 2023.
In other matches, second-seeded Alex de Minaur from Australia beat Roman Safiullin from Russia, winning 6-1, 7-5. Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev eliminated the defending champion, Karen Khachanov, with a score of 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev also won against Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan with a score of 6-3, 6-4.
In a thrilling match, Hamad Medjedovic from Serbia defeated sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece with a close score of 7-6 (6), 5-7, 7-6 (5). Several other players also moved onto the second round, including Nuno Borges from Portugal, Italian Luca Nardi, Tallon Griekspoor from the Netherlands, Botic van de Zandschulp from the Netherlands, Zizou Bergs from Belgium, and Felix Auger-Aliassime from Canada.
Rio Open Highlights
Over at the Rio Open, top seed Alexander Zverev had an interesting first match, winning 7-6 (4), 6-4 against China’s Yunchaokete Bu. Zverev started strong by winning the first three games but then found himself trailing 5-4. He saved a set point during Bu’s serve and won the first-set tiebreak before getting the only break of serve in the second set.
In other matches, fourth-seeded Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina defeated France’s Hugo Gaston 7-6 (9), 6-0. Fifth-seed Sebastian Baez won against his fellow Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga with a score of 6-3, 7-5. Eighth-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry also moved on, beating France’s Corentin Moutet 6-3, 7-6 (1). Another Argentine, Camilo Ugo Carabelli, upset seventh-seeded Pedro Martinez from Spain 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
More players who advanced include Italy’s Luciano Darderi, Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur, and Portuguese lucky loser Jaime Faria.
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