Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2017: ATP Scores and Results from Tuesday
Andy Murray progressed to the second round of the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Championships after beating Tunisian Malek Jaziri in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, in Dubai on Tuesday. The world No. 1 made comfortable work of the second set against a tiring opponent but was put through his paces by Jaziri during a grueling first set.
Murray's win came on a day when defending champion Stan Wawrinka lost to Damir Dzumhur. The Bosnian saw off Wawrinka in straight sets after taking the first on a tiebreak.
Here are the full results from Tuesday's matches:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| Player 1 | Score | Player 2 |
| Damir Dzumhur | 7-6(4), 6-3 | (2) Stan Wawrinka |
| (7) Lucas Pouille | 6-2, 6-2 | Adam Pavlasek |
| (Q) Marius Copil | 6-4, 6-2 | Jan-Lennard Struff |
| (Q) Evgeny Donskoy | 6-4, 6-4 | Mikhail Youzhny |
| Daniel Evans | 6-2, 6-3 | Dustin Brown |
| Daniil Medvedev | 6-2, 7-5 | (WC) Omar Alawadhi |
| Fernando Verdasco | 6-2, 7-5 | (LL) Andreas Seppi |
| Andy Murray | 6-4, 6-1 | Malek Jaziri |
| Robin Haase | 6-2, 6-4 | (Q) Denis Istomin |
| (5) Tomas Berdych | 6-3, 2-1 (RET) | (Q) Lukas Rosol |
All statistics per the ATP World Tour official website.
Recap
A seesaw opening game saw Murray pushed to deuce on serve. However, the Scot forced a pair of errors from Jaziri to get on the board first.
Yet Murray's start didn't awe Jaziri. Instead, the player ranked 47th in the world soon moved ahead 2-1 after finally claiming the break of serve he'd threatened earlier.
Murray showed the quality of a champion to recover from his blip and engineer a break of his own, though. A precise two-hander just stayed in to give Murray the advantage and a 3-2 lead.
The players then traded games to leave Murray 4-3 in front at the intermission. Jaziri served himself back even after the break, but Murray held in response and managed to break serve again to seal the set.
Jaziri had Murray running all across the court in the second game of the next set before finally smashing a drop shot into the ground to win a stunning rally and even the set. But Jaziri was in trouble when he left Murray with a trio of break points two games later.
Jaziri appeared to be struggling with the high temperature and was checked several times before the next change of ends.
A powerful service game from the world's top-ranked player made it 4-1, and Murray was on the brink of a victory that wasn't as comfortable as it appeared.
Another frantic rally followed, but this time, Jaziri's drop shot was returned with interest by Murray, who appeared to be moving quicker the longer the match went on. The Scot was also enjoying tremendous success with a devilish backhand that won him some crucial points by forcing Jaziri into errors.
Murray had made it through with some style in the end. Stuart Fraser of The Times confirmed his second-round opponent:
Earlier, a relieved Dzumhur admitted that he struggled to cope with the pace of Wawrinka's play early on, per the ATP World Tour official website: "The first three games were in, like, six, seven minutes. He was playing outstanding there. Was just hitting every ball. I couldn't even touch the ball. I didn't have a chance to do something. So I knew that it's not too much about my game. It's about his day. If he's going to play like that, he's going to win, I couldn't do anything."
Dzumhur also admitted how "playing longer points was giving [him] more chances." Another key for him was how he managed to break Wawrinka's serve three times. He kept the Swiss off guard with an uneven pace and efficiency during his 11 service games.
Dzumhur's own serve may have been steady and strong, but his return game was far from a distant second. In fact, the 24-year-old won 23 return points, compared to just 18 for Wawrinka.
As Reem Abulleil of Sport360 noted, Wawrinka accomplished an unfortunate feat by bowing out early at this tournament:
While Dzumhur caused an upset, seventh-seed Frenchman Lucas Pouille blasted Adam Pavlasek off the court with a dominant display on serve. Pouille hit six aces and 24 points on first serve.
Pavlasek fought well and even saved five of 10 break points, but Pouille could always deliver formidable hits when he needed to.
Pouille went through, and his fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils will now face Daniel Evans after the latter recorded a comfortable, straight-sets win over Dustin Brown.
BT Sport's David Law noted how Evans quickly built a commanding lead against his German opponent:
Evans will now join Dzumhur as an unseeded player ready for the last 16. However, Robin Haase, Daniil Medvedev and Spain's Fernando Verdasco will also be involved as unheralded players keen to cause a few more notable upsets.
Meanwhile, a knee injury forced Lukas Rosol to retire midway through the second set in his match against fifth-seed Tomas Berdych, per BBC Sport. In fairness, the latter was already in firm control of the match, having taken the first set 6-3.
In typical fashion, Berdych relied on his serving power, booming six aces. But he also forced and converted a pair of crucial break points.
In the day's other matches, Romanian Marius Copil beat Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff, while Evgeny Donskoy overcame Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets in an all-Russian affair.
The spotlight was naturally on Murray, though, and he responded well after his disappointment at the Australian Open. While he's still not clicking into top form, the world No. 1 is showing signs of the quality that helped him dominate the sport in 2016.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
