The National's Ahmed Rizvi and Jon Turner are at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to bring you live reports from the ATP tournament action.
***
Troicki crashes out to Baghdatis in first round
Viktor Troicki, the No 5 seed, became the first big casualty of the men’s week when he crashed to a 7-6, 6-2 opening round defeat against mercurial Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
Troicki, who is off to a career-best start with the title in Sydney and a the final in Sofia, struggled to impose himself against an opponent who had won four of their five duels coming into this match.
The Serb, ranked No 21 in the world, lost the first set in the tie-break after he had broken for a 3-1 lead. Baghdatis then broke him twice in the second set to book a second round clash with Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
“I think I started off a bit too aggressively,” said Baghdatis. “So I had to slow myself down and I started being a bit more patient. I think I was a bit more patient than him in the tie break as well and that made the difference.”
Earlier in the day, Tunisian wildcard Malek Jaziri overcame jet lag to down Russian veteran and world No 78 Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-1 in an hour and 31 minutes for his first win of 2016.
“In the beginning it was very hard for me even to breathe,” said the world No 121, who playing in Delray Beach last week and took a 20-hour flight to reach here. “I just arrived from the US two days ago. I woke up this morning very early and I am still jet lagged.
“But the most important thing is I was fighting. From the first point to until the end, I was fighting. I was a break down and then I come back. So it was very important for me today, this win.”
Photo gallery: Novak Djokovic, Feliciano Lopez and Mikhail Youzhny serve it up in Dubai
Djokovic cruises past Robredo 6-1, 6-2
World No 1 Novak Djokovic has got his bid for a fifth Dubai title off to a flying start with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo.
Djokovic, who has reached 17 consecutive finals since losing to Ivo Karlovic in Doha at the start of last year, cruised through the first set in 31 minutes, breaking Robredo twice, in the second and sixth game.
The Serb, then, made short work of the second set as well, breaking Robredo twice, to complete the proceedings in 66 minutes and set up a second round clash with Tunisian wild card Malik Jaziri.
“He’s playing his best tennis now, and is true he’s beating everyone,” said Jaziri. “But I will be on court like all the matches. I have nothing to lose, you know. In tennis you never know. That’s part of this beautiful game. Who knows? Maybe I wake up on a good day.”
Lopez tops Spanish compatriot Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
Feliciano Lopez, the sixth seed, is through to the second round after a battling 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win over Spanish compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Lopez, the world No 24, barely broke a sweat as he raced through the first set in 37 minutes, breaking Garcia-Lopez twice, but he failed to keep the momentum going in the second set and dropped his serve in the 10th game to allow the world No 37 to draw level.
Lopez, however, broke Garcia-Lopez in the opening game of the deciding set and that break was enough to book his place in the second round.
Chung defeats Seppi 6-3, 6-4
Hyeon Chung served up a reminder of his burgeoning talent after defeating Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Chung, 19, is among the next generation of young players tipped for the top end of men’s tennis, and in an efficient display on Court 1, showed why he is regarded so highly.
The Korean world No 66, needed just a service break in each set to defeat Italian Seppi, ranked 27 places higher in the world. Indeed, Chung only faced one break point in the entire match.
Chung will face either No 4 seed Roberto Bautista Agut or Simone Bolelli in the second round.
Malek Jaziri beats Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-1
Malek Jaziri, the sole representative from the Arab region, is through to the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and a likely encounter with world No 1 Novak Djokovic.
Jaziri, the world No 121, eliminated two-time Dubai finalist Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-1 in today’s first match on Centre Court. The Tunisian 32-year-old recovered from a breakdown in the first set to immediately earn a service break of his own before edging ahead in Game 9 and serving out the opener.
Jaziri then seized control of the match by breaking Youzhny in Game 3 of the second set, and the Tunisian streaked ahead when he claimed another break for a 4-1 lead before closing the match on the Youzhny serve.
Youzhny, who reached the final in 2007 and 2010, had to go through qualifying on his 15th appearance in Dubai, and the succession of matches appeared to take their toll on the 33-year-old Russian.
For Jaziri, he will face either Djokovic or Spain’s Tommy Robredo, with that match the first of today’s evening session on Centre Court.
***
Match of the day
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) v Viktor Troicki (SRB) [5]
In terms of on-court entertainment, this is the pick of today’s matches. Baghdatis, a former Australian Open finalist and world No 8, takes on fifth seed Troicki in the final match on Centre Court. While not the force he was in his prime, Baghdatis, 30, remains a crowd favourite for his infectious personality and all-action style of play. Troicki, also 30, possesses a solid all-round game, so we can expect a high-intensity match played out between two players who will go searching for winners.
Order of play
Centre Court
From 2pm: Mikhail Youzhny (Q, RUS) vs Malek Jaziri (WC, TUN)
6-Feliciano Lopez (ESP) vs Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)
From 7pm: 1-Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Tommy Robredo (ESP)
5-Viktor Troicki (SRB) vs Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)
Court One
From 2pm: Hyeon Chung (KOR) vs Andreas Seppi (ITA)
Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) / Joao Sousa (POR) vs Sergei Bubka (UKR) / Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)
Vasek Pospisil (CAN) vs Lucas Pouille (Q, FRA)
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
