DUBAI: Roberto Bautista Agut ended a three-match losing streak when he beat Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Dubai Championships on Monday.
The third-seeded Bautista Agut hadn't won a match since taking his seventh ATP title in Auckland in January.
The Spaniard had to save four break points to serve out the first set. He lost his serve three times but broke Mayer five times to reach the second round.
"Here, the ball flies after a deep return," Bautista Agut said. "Wasn't easy to keep the serve."
Sixth-seed Philipp Kohlschreiber also advanced at the expense of French qualifier Gleb Sakharov 6-4, 6-2.
Kohlschreiber faces Greek wild card Stefanos Tsitsipas for a place in the quarterfinals.
Kohlschreiber has lost to the eventual champions in the last two quarterfinals: Stan Wawrinka in 2016 and Andy Murray last year.
Robin Haase of the Netherlands, Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, and Benoit Paire of France were also winners.
World No. 4 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria is the top seed.