Cilic stuns De Minaur in Dubai as Rublev loses to qualifier

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Second seed Alex de Minaur and third seed Andrey Rublev have crashed out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

De Minaur lost to former US Open champion Marin Cilic 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, as the 36-year-old Croatian struck 27 winners en route to his first tour-level win of the 2025 season.

Cilic will face Alexei Popyrin in the second round.

Meanwhile, French qualifier Quentin Halys defeated third seed Andrey Rublev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 to set up a second round clash with another former champion, Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.

Elsewhere, Nuno Borges eased past eighth seed Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-1, and will next face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who overcame Alexander Bublik 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.

In other matches, defending champion Ugo Humbert dropped just three games in a ruthless 6-3, 6-0 opening win over Jiri Lehecka, while Luca Nardi battled past Marton Fucsovics 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 to secure his spot in the Round of 16.

 

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