For all the cake, candles, and social media tributes, Novak Djokovic marked his latest record in the way he most would have wanted: with a win.
Djokovic this week became the longest-serving world No 1 in tennis history, his total 378 weeks atop the rankings surpassing the previous mark held by German legend Stefi Graff.
Getting back to the business of what got him there in the first place, the Serb began his bid for a sixth Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title on Tuesday with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 against Czech qualifier Tomas Machac.
As the score suggests, it was far from straightforward for the top seed, whose level dropped significantly at the start of the second set having wrapped up the first fairly comfortably. Djokovic even faced break points to fall 4-0 behind, but later had a chance to get back on serve when Machac served for the set, only for the world No 130 to hold firm to force the decider.
It then looked as though Djokovic would ease to victory after moving into a 4-1 lead in the final set, but once again his level dipped and the errors flew off the racquet, allowing Machac to drag himself level at 4-4.
The rest of the set went with serve until Djokovic dug in to take the victory in the tiebreak. He will face Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the second round.
It wasn't the prettiest but nevertheless, it was Djokovic's 13th straight win to start the season, a run which has earned the 35-year-old a title in Adelaide and a record-extending 10th Australian Open trophy to pull level with Rafael Nadal on a record 22 Grand Slams.
Daniil Medvedev stretched his unbeaten run to 10 matches with victory over Matteo Arnaldi. Reuters
Daniil Medvedev is another player in the Dubai field on an impressive unbeaten run, and
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