Richard Gasquet into 2nd Round of Qatar ExxonMobil Open

Doha, January 03 (QNA) - Richard Gasquet made it to the second round of Qatar ExxonMobil Open after beating Dominican player Victor Estrella Burgos 2-0 (6-0 and 6-2) at Khalifa Tennis Complex. A winner in the 2013 edition of the tournament, Gasquet has 14 titles throughout his professional career that started in 2002. In the other matches, third-seeded and world No. 19 Tomas Berdych was eliminated at the hands of Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 2-1 (4-6, 6-1 and 6-7). The tournament's second-seed and world No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta also crashed out earlier today after losing to Croatia's Borna Coric 2-1 (7-5, 2-6 and 6-7). Meanwhile, six-seed Filip Krajinovic lost to Germany's Peter Gojowczyk (4-6 and 1-6). In addition, Tunisia's Malek Jaziri and Qatar' Jabor Al Mutawa, both participating in the tournament through wildcards, were eliminated from the event after losing to Aljaz Bedene and Stefano Travaglia respectively. On the sidelines of the tournament, the organizing committee honored highly-ranked participating players, including world No. 5 Dominic Thiem, Busta, Berdych and Gasquet in a ceremony that was held at a Doha hotel in the presence of Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation President Nasser Al Khelaifi. Speaking during the ceremony, tournament director Karim Alami said Qatar ExxonMobil Open has become one of the most important events in the region over the past few years. He added that the tournament has evolved into one of the major Association of Tennis Professionals Tour events, noting that it contributes heavily to spreading the sport in the region as well as developing it at the global stage. (QNA)