DOHA, January 02, 2019-World number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia on Tuesday beat Damir Dzumhur in straight sets to complete his first win at the 2019 Qatar ExxobMobil Open. Djokovic, a Doha champion in 2016 and 2017, won 6-1, 6-2 in just 55 minutes on the Centre Court at Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex. It was Djokovic's second win over Dzumhur in as many matches. The former Qatar winner looked in little trouble as he broke his opponent with ease in both sets to complete his dominating show.
Also on Tuesday, three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland battled past Russia's Karen Khachanov 7-6, 6-4 in 1 hour 42 minutes on the Centre Court. It was Wawrinka's second win over the Doha third seed in as many matches. Wawrinka fired 7 aces compared 6 by Khachanov. Wawrinka now has improved to 5-4 overall in Doha.
In another Centre Court clash, Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis continued with his dream run when he beat 6th seed David Goffin of Belgium. Berankis won 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 in 2 hours and 18 minutes. Goffin fired 11 aces but Berankis showed better finish on key points to take the win. Fourth seed Marco Cecchinato of Italy beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 6-4, 6-2 in 88 minutes on Court number 2.
Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 35, beat Qatar's Mubarak Shannan Zayid 6-1, 6-3 in 61 minutes on Court Number 1. The Qatari wildcard entry impressed with 6 aces as Garcia-Lopez sealed a place in the second round of the six-day tournament. It was a first meeting for both players. In another clash on Tuesday, Serbia's Dusan Lajovic beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-6 in 1 hour 35 minutes. Both players fired three aces each. Lajovic now has won both matches against Mannarino.
The $ 1.4 million tournament continues on Wednesday with quarterfinals slated for Thursday followed by the semifinals on Friday and the title clash on Saturday.
