Djokovic brothers go 1-1 in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Novak Djokovic opened defense of his title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a win Monday but his brother didn't fare as well.

Djokovic, in his first tournament since winning the Australian Open, took out Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-4, 6-2. Djokovic won more than 70 percent of the points on serve and Stebe wasn't able to convert any of his three break chances.

Marko Djokovic, four years younger than and 868 rankings spots behind Novak, was defeated 6-3, 6-2 by Andrey Golubev. Even with a break, Golubev dropped just 13 points on serve.

Sixth-seeded Marcy Fish was a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Andreas Beck. Fish won 69 percent of the points off Beck's serve and was 5-for-5 in break opportunities.

Also, Lukas Rosol topped Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-2, losing a mere eight points on serve, and Lukas Lacko survived a marathon third-set tiebreaker in a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (16-14) win over Sergei Bubka.

In addition to Novak Djokovic, the field at Dubai includes seven other Top 10 players. That includes world No. 3 Roger Federer, who lost 6-3, 6-3 to Djokovic in the 2011 final.