The world number 134 was imperious on his own serve as he continued his encouraging preparation for the 2022 season, overcoming the 20-time Grand Slam champion 6-3 7-5.
Browsing: Andrey Rublev
This is because there lies ahead of the Serb possible matches against Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev.
The Greek 22-year-old world No. 5 took one hour and 11 minutes to beat the Russian, ranked eighth, for the best victory in his career, after his triumph in the year-end Masters in 2019.
The sixth-seeded Russian entered the clash trailing Nadal 0-2 in their ATP Head2Head and facing down the Spaniard’s daunting 73-5 record at this event.
The Greek later said he was struggling for inspiration in his game.
It was the Frenchman’s first Qatar title despite having played in three previous finals, stretching back more than a decade, and he is the first wildcard to win in Doha since compatriot Nicolas Escude triumphed back in 2004.
The unseeded youngster set up the tie against Nadal in style, dropping only a single set in his journey to the last-eight encounter with the tournament’s top seed