Doha, 18 February (HS): Novak Djokovic performed brilliantly in his first match after recovering from a muscle injury. Pairing up with Spain's Fernando Verdasco, he defeated Alexander Bublik and Karen Khachanov 6-1, 6-1 in straight sets in the first round of the Qatar Open doubles category.

The match lasted just 48 minutes, in which the pair of 41-year-old Verdasco and 37-year-old Djokovic completely dominated. Verdasco is going to retire after this tournament, and this victory was a special achievement in the last phase of his career.

Djokovic suffered a muscle injury in his left leg while playing against Germany's Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of the Australian Open last month, due to which he had to retire from the match. Now Djokovic and Verdasco, who are fully fit and have returned to the court, will next face the second seeded British-Finnish pair Henry Patton and Harri Heliovaara.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar