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Medvedev begins Dubai title defense with win in first match since losing Australian Open final
Medvedev begins Dubai title defense with win in first match since losing Australian Open final
Daniil Medvedev opened his title defense at the Dubai Championships on Tuesday by beating Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 7-5 in his first match since losing the Australian Open final to Jannik Sinner.
The top-seeded Medvedev had withdrawn from tournaments in Doha and Rotterdam because of fatigue and a right foot problem following his loss to Sinner at Melbourne Park.
Trailing 5-3 in the second set, Medvedev won four straight games to clinch the win. He will face Lorenzo Sonego in the second round of the hard-court tournament.
“In general, to be honest, (I'm) happy with my level because it's not easy to come back after an injury,” the fourth-ranked Medvedev said in his on-court interview.
Medvedev said he “didn’t feel any pain” in defeating the 47th-ranked Shevchenko. After losing to Sinner, Medvedev had taken 10 days off and “started feeling pain here and there” when he returned to practice.
Among other first-round matches Tuesday, fourth-seeded Karen Khachanov beat Luca Van Assche 6-2, 6-3; fifth-seeded Ugo Humbert outlasted Gael Monfils 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; and eighth-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina defeated Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
