2013 champion Richard Gasquet withdraws from Doha

Former world No. 7 Richard Gasquet has suffered a setback ahead of the new season as he has withdrawn from the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, which kicks off on January 06. 

A similar setback happened to the Frenchman a several years ago as he was expected to start the 2016 season at the Qatar Open but a back injury prevented him from opening his season in Doha.

Gasquet, a 15-time ATP champion, will have to wait at least one more year to make his sixth appearance on the hard courts of Doha. 

The 33-year-old Frenchman's best result in Doha came in 2013, when he came from a set down in the final to beat Russia's Nikolay Davydenko and clinch his maiden title at the event. 

Following the withdrawal of world No. 61 Gasquet, a place in the Qatar Open main draw has opened for Great Britain's Kyle Edmund, who has one main draw appearance in Doha. 

After failing to make it past the Doha qualifying in 2015, the 24-year-old Briton returned to the event a year later and as a qualifier made the quarterfinal before losing to Tomas Berdych. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Qc6eOC