Dan Evans beaten 6-4 7-5 by Andrey Rublev as Russian continues strong form; Rublev won his ninth ATP Tour title in Marseille on Sunday; Evans' fellow Brit Andy Murray won his first-round match on Monday
Wednesday 23 February 2022 10:22, UK
British No 2 Dan Evans was knocked out in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships following a straight-sets defeat to World No 7 Andrey Rublev.
Evans, the World No 28, suffered a first-round exit for the first time this year as Rublev converted his seventh match point to win 6-4 7-5.
Russian star Rublev had won his ninth ATP Tour title in Sunday when he defeated Canada's Félix Auger-Aliassime in the Open 13 in Marseille.
Rublev, 24, said he arrived in Dubai at 2am on the day of his match against Evans, leaving him with very little confidence.
"I was thinking I have no chance," he said. "I'm super happy (with the win) because I didn't expect this."
Evans' fellow Brit, Andy Murray, won his first-round match against Australian qualifier Christian O'Connell on Monday and will play Italian fourth seed Jannik Sinner in round two.
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