DOHA, Qatar — Novak Djokovic was upset by Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Tuesday at the Qatar Open in the Serb’s first match since exiting the Australian Open with a hamstring injury.
The 37-year-old Djokovic, ranked No. 7, lost to the Italian for the first time in five career matches and will have to wait to join Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) as the only players in the ATP Tour’s 100-win club.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion reached the Australian Open semifinals but retired from the last-four match against Alexander Zverev because of a hamstring injury.
Djokovic said he didn’t have “any pain or discomfort.”
“I was outplayed by just a better player today,” he said. “I wasn’t at my desired level, and it could be that I’m still not moving the way I want to move, but … I played without pain, so there is no excuse in that.”
Berrettini won for the 10th time in his career against a top-10 player and will face Tallon Griekspoor in the second round.
Also on Tuesday, No. 2 seed Alex de Minaur defeated Roman Safiullin 6-1, 7-5.
