The first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships got underway on Monday with the world number one leading the charge. Novak Djokovic got his campaign underway, along with sixth seed Feliciano Lopez. Here’s what happened on day one in Dubai.
Results
Novak Djokovic wasted no time in cruising through the first round, defeating Tommy Robredo 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour. The world number one only lost seven points on serve in the entire match, including all 13 of his first serve points in the second set, and did not face a break point in the entire match. He was nearly as strong on his return, as he broke twice in each set and won 50% of points in his return games to cruise into the second round.
Djokovic will take on wild card Malek Jaziri in the second round. The Tunisian was impressive in his second round match, dispatching former top 10 player Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-1. Jaziri was impressive on serve, winning 80% of his first serve points and limiting Youzhny to one break point. But he was even better on his return, breaking five times and won one more point on Youzhny’s serve than the Russian did, including 61% of Youzhny’s second serve points. It took Jaziri an hour and a half to book his second round date with Djokovic.
Sixth seed Feliciano Lopez survived a tough battle with countryman Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, eventually emerging victorious 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Lopez pounded 16 aces and won 82% of his first serve points. After blowing through the first set, Lopez’s serve level dropped just enough for Garcia-Lopez to grab a pair of breaks. The lower-ranked Spaniard upped his own service level in the second set, dropping only six points on serve in the frame to force a decider. But he could not keep the level up, as Lopez would manage the crucial break in the final set to advance in just under two hours.
The match of the day was contested by Canadian Vasek Pospisil and Frenchman Lucas Pouille. The pair battled for an hour and 47 minutes, and in the end, Pospisil’s strong serve won out, and the Canadian grabbed the 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory. Pospisil did not allow a single break point in the first or third sets, and managed a single break in each set which was enough to advance to the second round. Pouille served well throughout the match, but could not muster enough on his return. All five of his break point chances came in the second set. He converted two in that set to keep the match alive, but it was all for nothing as he could not get his return going in the other two sets, allowing Pospisil to claim victory.
In other action, young gun Hyeon Chung cruised past Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4, while Marcos Baghdatis upset fifth seed Viktor Troicki 7-6(2), 6-2. The first round will continue on Tuesday with the bulk of the matches taking place, including Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych’s first round battles.