(Reuters) – Novak Djokovic was stunned 7-6(4) 6-2 by Matteo Berrettini in the Qatar Open first round on Tuesday as the Italian enjoyed his first win over the former world number one.
Berrettini played superbly to knock out the twice champion in one hour 35 minutes to secure his first victory against a top 10 opponent since January 2023.
“It’s something that I’ve been looking to do,” said former world number six Berrettini, who had lost all four of his previous matches against the Serbian.
“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.”
World number 35 Berrettini, voted the ATP’s comeback player last year, faces Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the next round.
The 24-times Grand Slam winner Djokovic, aiming for a 100th ATP title, was playing his first singles match since retiring in the Australian Open semi-finals due to a hamstring injury.
The 37-year-old, who last week said he was “almost fully recovered”, had not lost a first-round match since his 2022 Monte Carlo Masters defeat by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Djokovic will now turn his attention to the doubles event, pairing up with Spaniard Fernando Verdasco against Finn Harri Heliovaara and Britain’s Henry Pattem in the quarter-finals.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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