Tennis Announcer Andy Taylor | Voice of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open | Qatar Tennis Federation
ROUND-1 MATCH RECAP FROM TENNIS ANNOUNCER ANDY TAYLOR
[Q] Ricardas Berankis -117- (LTU) def [6] David Goffin -22- (BEL)
Tonight was the 5th meeting between 117th-ranked Berankis and the World #22. Ricardas won their first two meetings in straight-sets – over 5-years-ago – during the 2011 Geneva Challenger Quarterfinals and the 1st-Round of Qualifying for the 2012 Paris Masters.
Since then, Goffin won their previous two ATP Tour-level matches in the Round of 16 at Chennai in 2015, and the 2nd-Round of the 2015 US Open. Both matches went the distance.
2015 US Open R2 – Goffin def Berankis 57 64 36 62 61
2015 Chennai R16 – Goffin def Berankis 60 46 76(1)
So close twice before. Tonight, Berankis finally earned his scalp. Unintimidated by Goffin’s results over the past four-years, Ricardas overcame a one-set deficit to take-down the former World #7 in a deciding set tiebreak.
Up next for Bernakis: Dusan Lajovic -48- (SRB).
Day-2. Updated Singles Draw
Day-2. Updated Doubles Draw
Round-1 Biography | [Q] Ricardas Berankis -117- (LTU)
Ranked as high as World #50, this 28-year-old is the highest-ranked player from Lithuania in ATP history. Last year, he won his 9th ATP Challenger Tour Singles title in Saint-Brieuc, was a Finalist in Rennes and Brest, and is now an 18-time Challenger Tour Finalist. In 2012, as a 141st-ranked Qualifier, he became the first Lithuanian to reach an ATP Tour-level Singles Final in Los Angeles. 5-years-later, he reached his second career Final in Moscow. Competing in his 3rd Qatar ExxonMobil Open, he qualified for this year’s main-draw with wins over Austria’s Dennis Novak and Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi. From Lithuania, please welcome Ricardas Berankis.
Qualifying Results
R2 def [4] Paolo Lorenzi -110- (ITA) 64 76(4)
R1 def Dennis Novak -142- (AUT) 64 63
Round-1 Biography | [6] David Goffin -22- (BEL)
Ranked as high as #7 in the World, this 28-year-old is the first Belgian in the history of the ATP Tour to crack the top-10. He owns 4 ATP Singles titles, is a 2-time Davis Cup Finalist, and at the 2017 ATP Finals in London – he defeated both World #1 Rafael Nadal and World #2 Roger Federer to reach the year-end championship match. Remarkably, last year during the rain-soaked Cincinnati Masters, he earned two top-10 victories on the SAME DAY – defeating Kevin Anderson(6) and Juan Martin Del Potro(3) to reach the Semifinals. Competing in his 2nd Qatar ExxonMobil Open, from Belgium, please welcome David Goffin.
