Djokovic Cruises Into Doha QFs

Novak Djokovic cruised into the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarter-finals on Wednesday when the World No. 1 beat Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-2 in 69 minutes. Djokovic, who also reached the last eight in 2015, extended his winning streak to 19 matches against left-handed opponents. He is bidding to capture his 60th tour-level title this week.

Djokovic goes onto face eighth seed Leonardo Mayer, who dropped just two of his first service points (26 of 28) in a 6-2, 6-4 win over Pablo Andujar. Djokovic beat Mayer in straight sets at the 2014 Australian Open.

Seventh seed Jeremy Chardy struck 12 aces and lost just five of his service points in beating fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 6-4. He now plays Illya Marchenko, who beat Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 6-2.

Second seed Rafael Nadal takes on Robin Haase later today.