Novak Djokovic fights through to beat Fernando Verdasco in Doha

Verdasco was on the verge of winning in the second-set tie break but Djokovic managed to save himself five times over, with the Spaniard evidently frustrated with his own errors.

And the world number two then fought through to take the third and the match - 4-6 7-6 6-3.

"I can't describe [the second set] in one word - I'd like to say tough luck to Fernando, he was clearly the better player for a big part of this match," said Djokovic afterwards.

"He had some big court forehands; he should have finished it off and he didn't.

"The conditions again were definitely not great...we struggled with consistency. It was definitely one of the most exciting matches I've played - I don't think I've saved five match points in my life too many times."