British number two Dan Evans bowed out in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships to Russia's Andrey Rublev in straight sets on Tuesday.
Entering on the back of his last-16 finish at the Qatar Open, Evans conceded the first set to his counterpart 6-4 as Rublev let out quite the roar towards the crowd.
The Russian - who hit eight aces on the day compared to Evans's two - was broken twice by the Brit during the match as the second set went to a 12th game, but Rublev produced a brilliant winner on the Evans serve to advance 6-4 7-5.
Evans's exit means that Andy Murray is Great Britain's sole hope in the men's singles tournament, with the three-time Grand Slam winner preparing to face Italy's Jannik Sinner after his taxing three-set win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Elsewhere, there were first-round wins for Roberto Bautista Agut, Hubert Hurkacz and Karen Khachanov on Tuesday, but defending champion Aslan Karatsev lost in straight sets to American Mackenzie McDonald.
Ben Knapton
