Doha, Feb 19 (IANS) Matteo Berrettini of Italy caused a huge upset in the Qatar Open 2025, beating former World No.1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets in a first-round match at the ATP 500 series event being played on the hard courts here on Tuesday. This is Berrettini’s first top-10 win since 2023.
Berrettini, who is currently ranked 35th in the ATP Rankings and had a career-high rank of 6 in January 2022, survived a few anxious moments, including a couple of break points in the sixth game of the first set, before winning the match 7-6(4), 6-2 in one hour and 33 minutes. While Berrettini is unseeded here, Djokovic is the third seed and was expected to go all the way after retiring from his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev with a hamstring injury last month. However, the Italian had other ideas as he served a potent display of power tennis to upset the 24-time Grand Slam winner.
In the second set, 28-year-old Berrettini broke Djokovic’s serve in the second game and then again in the marathon eighth game in which he saved a game point after deuce and then defeated the 37-year-old Serb on the second advantage. Berrettini won 85 per cent (40/47) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a dazzling 95-minute victory, which was his first in their ATP head-to-head series (1-4).
Berrettini was voted ATP’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2024 after he returned from a six-month injury to claim three tour-level titles, but the 28-year-old has struggled to produce that form at the start of the 2025 season. Before his campaign in Doha, Berrettini tallied a 1-3 record. But with his bruising performance against Djokovic, during which he struck 19 forehand winners, Berrettini appeared not far from his best.
Competing in his first singles match since retiring from his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev with a hamstring injury, Djokovic moved freely in the windy Doha conditions. This was particularly evident in the fifth game, where he dug himself out of a 0/40 hole by outlasting Berrettini from the back of the court before producing an inch-perfect drop shot to hold serve. But it was ultimately not enough to stop the Italian from continuing his red-hot form in a one-sided tie-break.
Before Tuesday’s first-round clash, Djokovic had broken Berrettini’s serve 27 times in their four meetings, while the Italian had mustered a break on just four occasions. Yet, after a tie-break was required in the opening set, it was Berrettini who broke down the 37-year-old Serbian from the baseline to race to a 3-0 lead in the second set. From there, Berrettini put on a show to stun the 2016-17 champion as he secured his 10th career victory over a Top 10 opponent.
In the second round at the newly upgraded ATP 500, Berrettini will face Tallon Griekspoor, who defeated the Italian in the first round in Rotterdam earlier this month.
–IANS
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