Džumhur advances to second round of ATP tournament in Doha

Damir Džumhur defeated world number 82 Marco Cecchinato 2-0 (6:4, 6:2) in sets to advance to the second round of the ATP tournament in Doha, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

- An excellent start to the season for me. Honestly, it couldn't have been better. I played a good match and I am satisfied with both the result and my game. I felt really good on the court, I managed to hold my serve throughout the entire match, which is really important in my game. When I broke in the first set, I felt that he dropped off and that I just needed to continue playing like that, which I did; I even raised my level of play in the second set and the winner was no longer in question. As for the second round and a possible match with Berdych, that is an excellent thing before the Australian Open, to play a match with a top 10 player. Of course, although he is a big favourite against Stakhovsky, he first has to beat him. I played against him two years ago and I know how good a player he is, but I don't want to give up before the match and lose the match before it has even started. Otherwise, I am satisfied with the entire preparatory cycle and I thank my father, coach Marko Subotić and fitness coach Zlatko Novković for the well-done preparations and a good start to the year - said Džumhur.

With this victory, Damir won 19,296 US dollars and 20 new points.