Matteo Berrettini faces a challenging start at the Qatar Open, an ATP 500 event in Doha, as he takes on world No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the first round. Ranked 34th, the Italian will face the Serbian star for the first time since 2021, with Djokovic holding a 4-0 head-to-head record, including a victory in the Wimbledon final that year. This marks Berrettini’s third appearance in Doha, where he has yet to progress past the opening rounds. Djokovic, on the other hand, boasts a strong record in Qatar, with 15 wins, two losses, and two titles (2016, 2017) to his name.
In the same half of the draw, top seed Carlos Alcaraz will begin his campaign against Croatian veteran Marin Cilic. The Spaniard could potentially meet Djokovic in the semifinals, a rematch of their Australian Open quarterfinal clash, won by the Serbian. Grigor Dimitrov looms as a potential quarterfinal hurdle for Alcaraz, while other top-ranked contenders such as Daniil Medvedev, Alex De Minaur, and Andrey Rublev are on the opposite side of the draw and could only meet him in the final.
Meanwhile, Italian success was celebrated at the WTA 1000 event in Doha, as Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini claimed the women’s doubles title. The third-seeded duo triumphed over Xinyu Jiang and Fang-Hsien Wu in a thrilling final, winning 7-5, 7-6(10). The Italians had to fight back in both sets, saving two set points in the opener before capitalizing on their opponents' errors. The second set saw Jiang and Wu take a 5-3 lead, but Errani and Paolini responded strongly, forcing a tiebreak where they needed seven match points to secure the victory. This marks their sixth career title together.
Paolini falls to Ostapenko in Doha, Sonego reaches Marseille quarters without playing
12 Feb - 18:07 •
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