Stan Wawrinka has ended his lengthy wait for a win at the Dubai Tennis Championships after defeating Sergiy Stakhovsky in the first round.
The Swiss second-seed lost his opening match on his two previous appearances in the tournament, but fought back from a set down to defeat Stakhovsky 5-7 6-3 7-5.
After moving 5-3 up in the first set, Wawrinka could not close it out on his serve and the frustrated world No 4 received a warning for racquet abuse as he fell 1-0 down in the match.
But Wawrinka regained his composure and control of the match in the second set and closed out victory over the Ukrainian, who also made him work for a win at last week's Marseille Open.
Nick Kyrgios needed three sets to overcome Martin Klizan
Nick Kyrgios went on to claim the Marseille trophy, his first ATP Tour title, and he extended his winning run after battling past Martin Klizan 3-6 6-3 6-2.
Klizan was a recent title winner in Rotterdam himself, but lost his grip on the match after taking a one set lead.
Earlier, third seed Tomas Berdych progressed with a comfortable 6-1 6-4 win over Joao Sousa of Portugal.
Tomas Berdych completed a straight sets victory
Berdych, who is a two-time finalist in Dubai, said: "A first match, playing outside after a while, it's a good test.
"Don't make it more complicated than needed."
Eighth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber is also through to the second round with a 6-1 7-5 over Marsel Ilhan, while Croatian Borna Coric beat Czech Jiri Vesely 6-4 6-4.
Watch live action at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday from 10am on Sky Sports 3. Or watch the Championships from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV.
