The 2014 season of the ATP World Tour got underway this week with a trio of ATP 250 events on hard courts. Already a new year of tennis has brought upsets in many shapes and forms. Here is a look at the top eight upsets in the first or second round of ATP action this week, all of which took place in Chennai or Doha as Brisbane unfolded more according to expectations.

1) Chennai Round 1: (Q) Ramkumar Ramanathan d. Somdev Devvarman 4-6 6-3 6-4

The biggest underdog win of the week goes to fiery 19-year-old Indian Ramanathan, who recovered from losing the first set to control the next two. The top-ranked Indian player at world No. 90, Devvarman did not move as well as he usually does. Ramanathan thus was able to move him around the court and force errors while doing most of his damage with his forehand and coming to the net to finish points.

Ramanathan entered the match ranked outside the top 500 in the world. This was his first ATP main-draw match, and his passion for the game showed as he brought the crowd into the match against his higher-ranked countryman and pulled off the upset in his hometown of Chennai. The 19-year-old trains in Barcelona, Spain and qualified for the main draw by winning three matches, the last of them also in three sets.  Before Chennai, Ramanathan primarily played on the Futures circuit, so it will be interesting to see if we hear from him again, or if this was a one-hit wonder.

2)  Doha Round 2: Florian Mayer d. (3) Andy Murray 3-6 6-4 6-2

The veteran German ball-striker had squeaked past a first-round encounter with Michal Przysiezny in a third-set tiebreak before this match. But Mayer defeated Murray Murray for the first time after losing three previous encounters, and he did so coming back from the position of 3-6 0-3 down in the match.

Murray looked comfortable early, but his recovering back may have flared up as the match progressed. The German was able to capitalize without playing far above his normal level, and he probably would not have beaten an in-form and fully healthy Murray on a hard court with the form that he showed. Nevertheless, the Scotsman will likely start the Australian Open having played only two matches as preparation, one of them against a Qatari futures player that was rather like a practice session.

3) Doha Round 2: Daniel Brands d. (2) David Ferrer 6-4 7-5

Ferrer suffered a string of unexpected losses in the second half of 2013, and he suffered yet another to start 2014, falling 4 and 5 to a hard-hitting German.  Brands had worked his way up the rankings in 2013 and was a semifinalist in Doha last year, proving his prowess at the venue. He was able to stymie Ferrer with his serve, being broken only once in the match and winning 75% of his service game points.  For his part, Ferrer was broken three times and won only 61% of his service game points. Brands already had defeated 2013 Doha finalist Nikolay Davydenko in round 1.

4) Doha Round 2: (Q) Peter Gojowczyk d. (6) Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(4) 7-6(7)

German qualifier Gojowcyzk, who entered the tournament ranked outside the top 150, defeated his sixth-seeded countryman Kohslchreiber in two tiebreaks while firing seven aces and winning 70% of his service points. He had defeated fellow qualifier Dominic Thiem in the first round.

5) Doha Round 2: Victor Hanescu d. (8) Fernando Verdasco 4-6 7-6(0) 6-2

Veteran Romanian Hanescu evened his career head-to-head with veteran Spaniard and 2013 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Verdasco at two wins apiece. This was primarily a surprise because not much was expected of Hanescu after a pedestrian 2013 campaign. On the other hand, he had pulled off another upset in round 1 against Joao Sousa, who broke through in the second half of last season.

6) Doha Round 1: Dustin Brown d. Ivan Dodig 6-4 6-2

The charismatic, crowd-pleasing Brown rolled past Dodig as he seeks to break into the top 100. World No. 33 Dodig struggled on serve, facing seven break points in the match and conceding four as Brown was broken only once in two chances.  Brown followed up his win over Dodig with a second-round win over towering Croat Ivo Karlovic to reach the quarterfinals. 

7) Chennai Round 1: (Q) Alexander Kudryavtsev d. (8) Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 3-6 6-3

Defending Chennai finalist Bautista Agut was ousted by world No. 270 Kudryavtsev, a 28-year-old Russian who did not play a single ATP main-draw match last year. Kudryavtsev finished the match in under two hours and converted three of seven break-point chances.

8) Doha Round 1: Ivo Karlovic d. (4) Tomas Berdych 7-6(7) 7-6(4)

Dr. Ivo seems to have Berdych’s number as he has beaten the Czech in their past two meetings. Karlovic, as per usual, was rock solid on serve, Berdych unable to trouble him as he faced only two break points the entire match. The world No. 7 also served well, giving Karlovic only one opportunity to break. After neither man could convert, Karlovic was superior in the tiebreaks as he gutted them out while hammering 24 aces to reach the second round.