Rublev makes winning start at Dubai Tennis Open

Andrey Rublev made a winning start to his bid for a second title in two weeks as he defeated Daniel Evans 6-4 7-5 to reach the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Rublev arrived in Dubai in the early hours of Tuesday after winning both the singles and doubles titles in Marseille, the first time in his career that he has claimed both titles in the same week.

Aslan Karatsev’s defence of his title ended in frustration when he was defeated by Mackenzie McDonald.

His opponent in the 2021 final, Lloyd Harris, was also beaten as he went down to Alex Molcan in just 65 minutes.

Jannik Sinner emerged victorious with a win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Karen Khachanov overcame Alex de Minaur, Denis Shapovalov beat Marton Fucsovics and former champion Roberto Bautista Agut was a comfortable winner over Arthur Rinderknech.