Andrey Rublev wins opening match of Dubai title defense

As Andrey Rublev triumphed 7-5, 6-2 on Monday, he ruined Filip Krajinovic's birthday and started his defence of the Dubai Championships title. Krajinovic, who just turned 31, pulled away 5-2. Rublev, the second seed, went on to win 11 of the following 13 games. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who defeated Malek Jaziri in straight sets in the Tunisian's last professional match, will be Rublev's next opponent. Jiri Lehcka was defeated by Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 as well. Lehecka defeated Rublev in Doha last week before wasting five match points against Andy Murray in their first encounter, which took place in Sydney in January. In his recovery from an ankle injury, Zverev has yet to win back-to-back matches this year. For me right now, these types of matchups are very essential, Zverev remarked. "I managed to prevail," After working hard to make the Doha final on Saturday, Murray, the Dubai winner from 2017, withdrew from the competition and gave a painful hip as his reason. Daniil Medvedev, the third-seeded player in Dubai, defeated him. The top-seeded Novak Djokovic faces Czech qualifier Tomas Machac in his first match since winning the Australian Open on Tuesday.