ATP Tour

Zhang breezes past Musetti in Doha

Not even the blustery Doha winds could blow Zhang Zhizhen off course Monday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

The World No. 48 produced a scintillating first-round performance in tricky conditions to charge past seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-2, 6-0 at the hard-court ATP 250. Zhang struck 19 winners and converted six of nine break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, as he wrapped victory in just 61 minutes.

“When I’m on court, I’m thinking [I can beat top players],” said Zhang, after his second Top 30 win of the year, in his on-court interview. “On court I’m giving myself a bit more confidence with how I play and also as time passes I get more confidence... I’m super happy that I played how I played here today, really good, and I believe I can make a deep run here.”

A touch of class from Zhang 😮‍💨🪄@QatarTennis | #QatarExxonMobilOpen pic.twitter.com/LRQ5hw7KWV

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 19, 2024

With his victory, Zhang became the first Chinese man to win a main-draw match in Doha, where his next opponent will be Botic van de Zandschulp or 2018 champion Gael Monfils. The 27-year-old Zhang is now 6-6 for the season, with his best showing so far a quarter-final run in Marseille earlier this month.

In the opening match of the day at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex, Pavel Kotov also eased to his maiden main-draw win in Doha. The World No. 64 defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 7-5 to set a second-round meeting with third seed Ugo Humbert. Kotov now leads Sonego 2-0 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Marton Fucsovics was also a winner on Day 1 in Doha, defeating two-time champion Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-3 in 83 minutes. The Hungarian will next play fourth seed Alexander Bublik.

Australian Alexei Popyrin overcame a tough test from Jordan wild card Abdullah Shelbayh, advancing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. With his win, Popyrin broke a nine-match losing streak against left handers. He will next meet Tallor Griekspoor or French qualifier Hugo Grenier.