In his first appearance since the 2020 Australian Open, Roger Federer made a winning return to the ATP Tour on Wednesday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.
The three-time Doha champion showcased his fighting spirit to save a set point at 5/6 in the first-set tie-break and he closed the match with a late break at 6-5 in the decider to beat Daniel Evans 7-6(8), 3-6, 7-5.
Federer will face Nikoloz Basilashvili in the quarter-finals. The Georgian broke Malek Jaziri on six occasions to record a 6-2, 6-2 win on Court B. Federer won his previous ATP Head2Head encounter against Basilashvili 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 at the 2016 Australian Open.
Delight in Doha 😁
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 10, 2021
🎥: @TennisTV | @rogerfederer | @QatarTennis pic.twitter.com/8R3S2pXFx0
Top seed Dominic Thiem of Austria withstood the challenge of Russian wild card Aslan Karatsev on Wednesday in a comeback victory at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
The World No. 4 bounced back from last month's Australian Open fourth-round exit by beating Karatsev 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 56 minutes.
Thiem will next face 2019 champion and fifth seed Roberto Bautista of Spain. One break of serve in each set was enough for Bautista Agut to beat Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik, this season's Antalya Open and Singapore Tennis Open finalist, 6-4, 6-3 in 70 minutes. The Spaniard won 32 of 37 first-service points to advance to the quarter-finals.
Source: Qatar News Agency
Cover image: ATP Tour
Follow us on our social media channels:
@ILQlive
@ILQlive
@ILoveQtr
ILoveQatar
If you have anything you want to share with us, send us an e-mail at [email protected]!
Want to send a tip? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected], anonymity is guaranteed!
You have successfully registered your account!
Please confirm your e-mail address by clicking on the URL sent to you.The e-mail usually arrives in 5-10 minutes.How ajeeb was that!? Thanks for contributing to our community! Your post will appear after we take a quick look!