Jeremy Chardy beat Spanish Albert Ramos, 6-3, 3-6 and 6-4 in two hours, in the first round of the ATP 500 in Dubai. After his good performance in Argentina, with the final in Córdoba and the semifinals in Buenos Aires, Ramos saw his streak cut short against Chardy, and he is the first of the five Spaniards participating this year in Dubai to say goodbye to the tournament. TSo do Roberto Bautista, champion in 2018, Pablo Carreño, Alejandro Davidovich, who entered the box after the loss of Australian Nick Kyrgios, and Bernabé Zapata, who made it to the main draw by beating Moldovan Radu Albot 2-6, 7-5 and 6-4 in two hours and 22 minutes. In another first round match, the Japanese Kei Nishikori conceded 13 aces but defeated the American Reilly Opelka, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Davidovich should have made his debut this Sunday against Lorenzo Sonego, but when the fifth seed, the Swiss Stan Wawrinka, was dropped at the last minute, champion in 2016, due to fatigue, the Italian has occupied the Swiss box, and the Spanish will debut this Monday against a player repeated from the previous phase.
Thiem, favorite
The first favorite, after the losses of Roger Federer, Gael Monfils, Matteo Berrettini and Kyrgios, and the resignation of Rafael Nadal to the invitation that the tournament offered him, is the Austrian Dominic Thiem, number four in the world who aspires to become the first player of this nationality to win the tournament since Thomas Muster, in 1997, and thus achieve his 18th title.
For Thiem it will be his second intervention in Dubai, where in 2015 he lost in the first round to Bautista. Other seeds are the Russians Andrei Rublev (1) and Karen Kachanov (8), the Canadian Denis Shapovalov (3), Bautista (4), the Belgian David Goffin (5) and Carreño (6).
Table and results.