Daniil Medvedev returns from extended break with tough win at Dubai Tennis Championships

If anyone deserved an extended break after last month's Australian Open, it was Daniil Medvedev. The Russian set an Open era record – arguably an unwanted one – at Melbourne Park for most time spent on court and most amount of sets played at a single Grand Slam tournament.

Had the 30 sets played over 24 hours and 17 minutes resulted in the title, it would have been worth it. That Medvedev ended up second-best for a fifth time in six major finals, after winning the first two sets against Jannik Sinner, was, he said, "very, very tough" to take.

So, while the ATP Tour left Australia to continue its calendar around the world, Medvedev took some time out, some of it optional to recharge from the fatigue, part of it enforced to recover from a minor foot injury caused by his exploits down under.

That meant forgoing opportunities to defend his titles in Rotterdam and Doha, but the world No 4 has now returned at this week's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where he is also the defending champion – the consequence of a sublime run of form 12 months ago when he won three successive tournaments.

Curiously, though, for a player who has won an impressive 20 titles in his career, Medvedev has never successfully defended one. The top seed will hope to change that this week, and he got his campaign underway with a hard-fought win against the talented Alexander Shevchenko on Tuesday evening.

It wasn't perfect and there were clear signs of a player lacking in recent match sharpness, but Medevdev just about managed to get it done in straight sets 6-3, 7-5, aided perhaps by Shevchenko's fitness struggles.

"In general, I'm pretty happy," Medvedev, 28, said. "There were definitely some moments where I could have played better. But I beat