Novak Djokovic and Fernando Verdasco have gotten off to an absolutely impressive start to their Doha doubles run after destroying Alexander Bublik and Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-1.
In the first game, the Kazakh/Russian combination routinely won their opening service game.
Then, the Serb and the Spaniard’s major run started as they stunningly won the next 11 games to open a 6-1 5-0 lead.
Serving to stay in the match, that’s when Bublik and Khachanov finally managed to snap the 11-game run.
But that pretty much changed nothing as Djokovic and Verdasco put a curtain on the match in the following game and sealed their win in just 48 minutes of play.
For the 37-year-old Serb and the 41-year-old Spaniard, this was their first win as a pair 19 years after debuting as a team.
Previously, they picked up a first-round defeat at the 2006 Monte Carlo Masters and also lost their doubles opener at the 2007 Cincinnati Masters.
Now, they are set to battle No. 2 seeds and reigning Wimbledon winners Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the Doha quarterfinal.
Verdasco to retire from tennis by playing doubles with Djokovic
Last year, the former world No. 7 didn’t play any tournaments.
But then over the weekend, the 2009 Australian Open semifinalist announced that he wanted to walk away from pro tennis by teaming up with the record 24-time Grand Slam champion.
“After so many incredible years on the ATP Tour, the time has come for my final tournament, and what better way to finish than playing doubles with my friend Novak Djokovic, a true legend of our sport and one of the best athletes of all time,” the 41-year-old announced on Instagram.
And Verdasco’s farewell couldn’t have started any better.
