Djokovic crashes out of Qatar Open

DOHA: Novak Djokovic was surprisingly defeated in Doha on Friday, beaten in the Qatar Open semi-final by world number 24, Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-3, 6-7 (8/6), 6-4.

The Serb fell to his first defeat of the season in a high-quality contest lasting more than two-and-a-half hours, which saw the Spaniard lose his first set of the week but still come back to defeat the world number one.

"I will remember this match for [the rest] of my life," said the 30-year-old.

"I can´t be more happy than I am now."

Agut needed just one match point to secure victory and will play either Tomas Berdych or Marco Cecchinato in Saturday´s final.

It is the second time he has beaten Djokovic in his career and both victories occurred in a semi-final.

The first win came in October 2016 in Shanghai. Djokovic was also world number one at that stage.

Questions may be asked about how tired the Serb was, as he played two games each day for three days in singles and doubles, prior to Friday´s defeat.