Juan Martin del Potro forced to retire

Wildcard Somdev Devvarman has reached the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships after opponent Juan Martin del Potro was forced to retire from their first-round meeting.

© AFP

Del Potro reached the semi-finals of the competition in 2012 and 2013, but had to pull out at the end of the first set due to an injury.

A recent wrist problem appeared to be hampering Del Potro in the first set, but he raced into a 2-0 lead after securing an early break.

Devvarman broke straight back before taking the tie-break 7-3, but Del Potro retired before the start of the second set.

The two met in this competition last year, with Del Potro victorious in straight sets.