Qatar Open 2025: Novak Djokovic Handed Shock First-Round Exit In Straight Sets

Novak Djokovic’s struggle in 2025 continued as he faced a first-round defeat at the hands of the Matteo Berrettini of Italy.

Qatar:Serbian star Novak Djokovic’s struggle in 2025 continued in the ongoing Qatar Open as well. The Serb suffered a shock loss against Matteo Berrettini of Italy in the Round of 32 fixture on Tuesday. The first set went into a tiebreaker where the latter prevailed but he dished out a clinical performance in the second set to pull off the upset with a scoreline of 7-6 (4), 6-2.

The 37-year-old was expected to deliver a stellar performance after having to retire hurt in the Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev. In the last four matches between these two, Djokovic never conceded a loss against Berrettini. Thus, he was considered the favourite for the win. The Italian displayed an aggressive gameplay to beat the World No. 7.

After the match, Djokovic stated that he was outplayed by his opponent.

“I haven't had any pain or discomfort during the match, none of that. Today, I was simply outplayed by a better player, that's all,” Djokovic said.

“I know I wasn't at the desired level, maybe I'm still not moving the way I want to, but what I want to make clear is that I played without any pain, so there's no excuse. Matteo was a better player than me; I think he played a masterful match, to be honest. Tactically, he was great, and he served very well throughout the match. I believe it was a well-deserved victory on his part,” he added.

It was Berettini’s 10th career victory against a top-10 opponent. He will now square off against Tallon Griekspoor in the second round while building on the momentum.