In a first round battle of the champions of the last two editions of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Frenchman Ugo Humbert beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in straight sets 6-4 7-5.
While the left-handed Humbert won the Dubai title in 2024, Tsitsipas was the defending champion, having clinched the title last year here on Centre Court.
On Tuesday, Humbert was rewarded for better consistency as Tsitsipas kept making unforced errors.
“It’s good to be back where I have won a tournament, but today, it was a tough match,” Humbert said.
“Having said that, this is a wonderful tournament and a beautiful court. I have beautiful memories of winning the tournament, the first big tournament of my career.”
Humbert will now face Russia’s Andrey Rublev, the 2022 Dubai champion, in the next round.
In the last match of the night on Centre Court, Rublev beat Humbert’s compatriot Valentin Royer 6-3 6-4.
The 28-year-old Russian will hope to make a deep run in Dubai, having reached the semifinals last week at Qatar Open where he lost to seven-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.
Source: Khaleej Times