ATP
Doha
Matteo Berrettini rediscovered his best form on Tuesday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, where he stunned two-time champion Novak Djokovic to earn his first-career win over the former World No. 1.
The Italian delivered a high-quality display to defeat the third seed 7-6(4), 6-2 at the ATP 500 and record his first victory over a Top 10 opponent since January 2023. Berrettini, the former No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings, 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.
“It’s something that I’ve been looking to do,” said Berrettini, who had lost each of his previous four meetings with Djokovic. “I played against him in the most important tournaments on Tour, had the honour and the pleasure to play against him. I wish I could have won one of those matches as well.
“I worked really hard to be back here, to be back at this level. I knew my level was high. I just needed matches and matches like this. All the hard work that I’ve been putting in the last months, in the last days, it worked pretty well today. So I’m really happy with my performance. I’m really happy because I enjoyed my time out there, which is the most important thing.”
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. Prior to 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 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.
Prior to 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 wore down the Serbian from the baseline to race, breaking him twice en route to victory.
De Minaur advances,
Medvedev beats Khachanov
Meanwhile, Alex de Minaur’s birthday celebrations continued in fine fashion as he notched his 200th hard-court win.
The second seed withstood a late fightback to defeat Roman Safiullin 6-1, 7-5.
De Minaur, who turned 26 on Monday, let slip a break lead when serving for the match at 5-4, but recovered with some trademark grit to record his Tour-leading 12th victory of the 2025 season.
“They’re tough days, these ones,” said De Minaur. “It’s cold, it’s windy, you probably don’t want to get out of bed. But once you step on court, you have to do everything you can to win. Whether it’s ugly or pretty tennis, you just put the ball in the court, and that’s what I did today. The wind made it difficult to feel comfortable out there on court. Out went any sort of tactics you had for the match and it was all about surviving more than anything.”
In other action at the ATP 500 event, former champion and fifth seed Andrey Rublev advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Alexander Bublik. The 27-year-old, who won the Doha title in 2020, improved to 5-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Bublik and remains on track for a potential quarter-final meeting with the second-seeded De Minaur. He will next face Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
The 2023 Doha titlist Daniil Medvedev claimed his first win over a Top 30 opponent in 2025 by defeating defending champion and World No. 21 Karen Khachanov. The fourth seed dug deep for a gruelling 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 triumph, which featured plenty of rallies extending beyond the 50-shot mark.
Medvedev did not earn a break point until the set point he converted to steal the second and level the match but, in the decider, the 29-year-old was rewarded for shifting to a more aggressive approach. He won 94 per cent (16/17) of points behind his first delivery in the final set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to improving to a 5-0 record in Doha.
Medvedev will next face Zizou Bergs, who earlier overcame two-time champion Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 7-6(4). If he can defeat the Belgian, Medvedev will become just the second man born in 1990 or later to capture 300 hard-court wins (299-107; Dimitrov - 312).
Results
Men’s Singles – Round of 32
Alex de Minaur (AUS) d. Roman Safiullin (RUS) 6–1, 7–5; Daniil Medvedev (RUS) d. Karen Khachanov (RUS) 4–6, 7–5, 6–3; Matteo Berrettini (ITA) d. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 7–6(7–4), 6–2; Botic van de Zandschulp (NED) d. Abedallah Shelbayh (JOR) 7–5, 6–3; Andrey Rublev (RUS) d. Alexander Bublik (KAZ) 6–3, 6–4; Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) d. Quentin Halys (FRA) 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–2); Luca Nardi (ITA) d. Zhizhen Zhang (CHN) 6–4, 6–3; Zizou Bergs (BEL) d. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 6–4, 7–6(7–4); Nuno Borges (POR) d. Otto Virtanen (FIN) 7–6(8–6), 6–3; Tallon Griekspoor (NED) d. Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 7–6(7–5), 7–6(9–7).
