Intro:

Istomin through as Gulbis loses his fifth successive match.

Wins for Federer and Gasquet on day one in Dubai.

Script:

At the Dubai Tennis Championships, defending champion Roger Federer took to the court again Mikhail Youzhny.

The Swiss was playing in his first match since his third round exit to Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open last month.

But Federer had little trouble getting past the Russian.

He took control early on and eventually cruised to a 6-3 6-1 victory to book his place in round two.

Joining him will be France's Richard Gasquet as he came through a tough match against the man who beat Federer in Melbourne, Seppi.

The Italian's record against Gasquet was a negative having only won once in six meetings and he lost the first set.

Despite winning the second thanks to a tie break, it wasn't enough, Gasquet pullling through in the decisive third to take the win 6-4 6-7 6-4.

Finally, fifth seed Ernests Gulbis was looking to end his 2015 losing streak as he faced Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.

He started wonderfully as he opened up a 4-1 lead over his opponent in the first set.

However, it was as good as it got for the Latvian as he collapsed entirely, Istomin eventually securing the first set 7-5.

Gulbis, who admitted to his lack of form after the encounter, was unable to stop his rut, Istomin sealing the set and the match 7-5 6-2 to progress.