Andrey Rublev recovers from slow start to Dubai Tennis Championships title defence

Andrey Rublev fought back from a slow start to his Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title defence by defeating Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-2 in the first round on Monday.

Rublev, seeded second this week, found himself 0-3 and 2-5 down but rallied to win five straight games to take the opening set. From there, the Russian settled into the match to claim victory after one hour and 29 minutes.

In the earlier matches, there was no triumphant return to Dubai for popular Tunisian Malek Jaziri, who was soundly beaten 6-2, 6-0 by Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last match of his career.

A crowd favourite and regular participant at the Dubai tournament, 39-year-old Jaziri, a wildcard entrant, has enjoyed some of his finest moments at this event, reaching the semi-finals here in 2018. Davidovich Fokina will face Rublev in the second round.

“Dubai has been a special place for me. I have a lot of good memories,” Jaziri said. “That's why I wanted to finish here in Dubai. I would like to thank the tournament, Dubai Duty Free, and [tournament director] Salah Tahlak for the opportunity to play here for my last competition.

“A lot of emotion. It's like all my memories from the last maybe 12 years, they came back in three seconds, all the matches I played here,” he added. “I played most of the No 1s in the world, most seeded No 1s of the tournament. I have flashbacks, wow.

“When you know that it going to be your last tournament, it's very special. I cannot describe it because it's not only emotional, it's something you don't know what's next actually, after.

“It means a lot to a lot of people because Dubai gave me a lot, not only for this year; for many years I have been here playing, a lot of Tunisian fans, a lot of the Arab