DOHA, Qatar – In a surprising turn of events at the Qatar Open, Novak Djokovic faced a setback as he was defeated by Matteo Berrettini with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Tuesday. This match marked Djokovic’s return to the court following his departure from the Australian Open, where he sustained a hamstring injury.

At 37 years old and currently ranked No. 7 in the world, Djokovic experienced defeat against Berrettini for the first time in their five encounters. With this loss, Djokovic’s pursuit to join the elite ranks of Jimmy Connors (109 wins) and Roger Federer (103 wins) in the ATP Tour’s 100-win club will have to be postponed.

Despite being a 24-time Grand Slam winner, Djokovic’s path in this tournament was hindered after his semifinal match at the Australian Open. He had to retire mid-match against Alexander Zverev due to his ongoing hamstring issue. However, Djokovic noted that he did not experience “any pain or discomfort” during his match with Berrettini.

“I was outplayed by just a better player today,” he candidly admitted. “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’s victory counts as his 10th win against a top-10 opponent, and he is set to compete against Tallon Griekspoor in the tournament’s second round.

Additionally, in other matches on Tuesday, No. 2 seed Alex de Minaur achieved a convincing win over Roman Safiullin, finishing with scores of 6-1, 7-5.