Roberto Bautista Agut ended his losing streak with a straight-sets victory over Florian Mayer in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday.
The Spaniard had not won a match since being crowned Auckland Open champion last month, but saw off German Mayer 6-3 6-4.
Third seed Bautista Agut was not convincing on serve, failing to hold three times, but five breaks moved him into the second round and halted a three-match losing run.
The world number 23 said: "I felt great on the court. He was mixing up all his game, and he was playing very aggressively on the return. We made a lot of good returns, both of us.... I think I did a great job."
Mayer's compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber, the sixth seed, sealed his spot in round two with a 6-4 6-2 victory over French qualifier Gleb Sakharov.
Robin Haase could face top seed Grigor Dimitrov in the second round after coming from a break down in the final set to see off Quentin Halys 7-5 2-6 6-4.
Benoit Paire, Marcos Baghdatis and Stefanos Tsitsipas were also winners on day one.
