Raonic and Khachanov dumped out in Dubai, Federer battles through
The first day of the 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships saw Roger Federer advance while Milos Raonic and Karen Khachanov were eliminated.
Published : Feb 26, 2019 12:06 IST
Milos Raonic and Karen Khachanov were the two seeds to exit in the Dubai Tennis Championships first round on Monday while Roger Federer advanced to the last 16.
Federer is a seven-time champion at this ATP 500 tournament and the Swiss is one title away from bringing up 100 Tour-level crowns.
The 20-time grand slam winner dropped the second set against Philipp Kohlschreiber but eased through the decider en route to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory that extends his perfect record over the German to 14-0.
Federer's opponent in the second round will be 2017 runner-up Fernando Verdasco, who came from a set down to defeat Thomas Fabbiano 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
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Fourth seed Khachanov, meanwhile, was thumped 6-4 6-1 by Nikoloz Basilashvili, who broke right at the end of the first set and then twice more in the second to book a meeting with defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut, who overcame Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 6-3.
Raonic, seeded seventh in Dubai, was ousted 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 by Jan-Lennard Struff. The German is through to face Marton Fucsovics, a 6-1 7-6 (7-5) conqueror of Damir Dzumhur.