Djokovic makes winning return from Australian triumph

Novak Djokovic returned to action for the first time since his Australian Open triumph with a solid 6-4 6-2 win over Germany's Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships last night.

Djokovic needed one hour and 28 minutes to secure victory, saving all three of the break points against him and breaking his opponent three times en route to the second round.

Djokovic paid tribute to his opponent, telling atptour.com: "I was impressed with his game, especially in the first set. He went on court wanting to win, and that's the right attitude, I think."

But Djokovic's younger brother, world number 869 Marko Djokovic, was denied a first ATP Tour win of his career as he was beaten 6-3 6-2 by Kazakh qualifier Andrey Golubev.

Sixth seed Mardy Fish rebounded from his shock defeat to Alvaro Olivetti in Marseille last week with an emphatic 6-1 6-1 win over Germany's world number 97 Andreas Beck.

Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko beat Ukrainian qualifier Sergei Bubka 2-6 6-2 7-6 (16-14), and Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic was a 6-2 6-2 winner over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.