Good day for the seeds as they book second-round tickets in Dubai
Roberto Bautista Agut and Philipp Kohlschreiber both won their Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships openers on Monday.
Third seed Bautista Agut claimed his first ATP Tour win in three matches as he beat Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 17 minutes.
He struggled on his serve though as he was broken three times, but luckily for him Mayer had his own problems as he lost his serve five times.
“I felt great on the court,” the world No 23 told ATPWorldTour.com. “He was mixing up all his game, and he was playing very aggressively on the return. We made a lot of good returns, both of us…. I think I did a great job.”
Sixth seed Kohlschreiber had no problems seeing off French qualifier Gleb Sakharov 6-4, 6-2.
A break of serve in the fifth game of the opening set and two in the second set were enough to earn him the win in one hour and 23 minutes.
“I think I am happy with my performance. First match, you always adjust a little bit,” Kohlschreiber said.
“But I felt comfortable in my game, very solid, moved my opponent well and served well. Overall I think it was a good match.”
The German will face wildcard Stefanos Tsitsipas next after the Greek beat Mikhail Kukushkin from Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3.
Marcos Baghdatis is also through after he beat Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-2 while Robin Haase overcame a second set wobble to beat Quentin Halys 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.
Latest
-
OlympicsThe Novak Djokovic steamroller reaches third round at Olympics as Serbian finds ‘a higher level of tennis’
Novak Djokovic four wins away from Olympic gold.
-
Olympics‘It was a tough match for us,’ says Jamie Murray after losing doubles at Olympics alongside Neal Skupski
No medal for Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski at Tokyo Games.
-
Tennis Top 10Top 10 youngest ATP Tour title winners: Andy Murray celebrating with a kiss and Lleyton Hewitt quitting school
Your top 10 youngest ATP Tour title winners.
-
ATP Tour‘It’s amazing,’ says Carlos Alcaraz as he follows in Rafael Nadal’s footsteps by capturing an ATP title at 18
An ATP Tour title for Carlos Alcaraz at just 18.
-
Olympics‘I’m here for a good time,’ says Naomi Osaka after easing into third round at Tokyo Olympics
Naomi Osaka defeated Viktorija Golubic to reach the last 16.
-
OlympicsKei Nishikori identifies key features behind brilliant win over Andrey Rublev at Olympics
Kei Nishikori off the mark at his home Olympics.
-
Olympics‘I feel definitely a little bit refreshed and happy again,’ says Naomi Osaka after opening win at Olympics
Smooth start for four-time major winner Naomi Osaka.
-
Olympics‘A disappointing day’ for ‘erratic’ Ashleigh Barty as she crashes out of singles at Tokyo Olympics
Ashleigh Barty makes an early exit from Tokyo Olympics.
-
ATP TourHe’s done it! ‘I couldn’t be more proud of myself,’ says Cameron Norrie after winning maiden ATP Tour title
It’s a maiden ATP Tour singles title for Cameron Norrie.
-
Olympics‘I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the singles,’ says Andy Murray after Olympics blow
Andy Murray will concentrate on doubles with Joe Salisbury.