Rublev beat Hubert Hurkacz 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5) on Friday to progress to the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
After confirming his place in a showdown with Jiri Vesely, the 24-year-old world number seven took a pen and scribed "no to war" on the lens of a television camera.
Vesely later wrote 'no war' on a camera lens after defeating Denis Shapovalov to book his place in the final.
It is not uncommon for players to write messages on camera lenses, but a plea for peace was an emotive move from Rublev.
On Thursday, Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine following weeks of rising political tensions. The conflict escalated further still on Friday, with reports of fighting within the capital city of Kyiv.
Rublev's actions came after Medvedev – who will succeed Novak Djokovic as world number one next week – said he wanted to "promote peace".
Medvedev has reached the final four of the Mexican Open in Acapulco.
Rublev had previously expressed his wish for peace in a news conference at the Dubai event.
"In these moments you realise that my match is not important," Rublev said, with a video clip shared to his official Instagram account.
"It's not about my match, how it affects me. What's happening is much more terrible.
"You realise how important it is to have peace in the world and to respect each other no matter what, to be united.
"We should take care of our Earth and of each other. This is the most important thing."
The world number one extended his record this year to 18-0 as he triumphed 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 18 minutes on Saturday.
Djokovic added the ATP 500 title to his victory at the Australian Open, which had followed his role inspiring Serbia to glory at the inaugural ATP Cup.
After saving three match points against Gael Monfils in the semis, the Serbian relished his 79th Tour title as Tsitsipas lost in the final for the second straight year, having been beaten by Roger Federer last season.
Djokovic was playing in Dubai for the first time since 2016 and had not won the event since his fourth success seven years ago.
Tsitsipas came into the match in form having built on his Open 13 Marseille triumph with a strong run to the final and he forced the first break point in the fifth game, though he could not convert.
A wide backhand from the Greek as he served at 3-4 gave Djokovic his first opportunity and the 17-time major champion seized it with a brilliant sliding backhand pass, before claiming the set with backhand down the line in the next game.
Top seed Djokovic built a 0-30 lead in the opening game of the second set only for Tsitsipas to halt his momentum with what looked like a key hold.
The players exchanged breaks when Djokovic moved 3-2 up only for his opponent to strike straight back, the Serbian sending a forehand long moments after the Greek had come out on top in a 25-shot rally.
But the more experienced player delivered when it mattered most, forcing two chances at 4-4 and taking the first when a Tsitsipas backhand found the net.
Djokovic had few problems serving it out, quickly earning three match points and needing just one as a backhand winner led to him embracing Tsitsipas before letting out a passionate celebration on court as his fantastic form continued.
The world number one eased to a 6-1 6-2 triumph over Tunisian veteran Jaziri in a contest lasting one hour.
Djokovic and Jaziri had met once before in their careers, with the Serbian defeating him by an identical scoreline at the same tournament back in 2016.
Three weeks on from his dramatic five-set win over Dominic Thiem in the Melbourne final, Djokovic did not have to defend a single break point and converted four of his eight opportunities in a display that saw him hit 22 winners.
He raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set and while Jaziri – ranked 260 in the world – was marginally more competitive in the second, Djokovic sprinted to victory after breaking at 2-2, converting his first match point with his seventh ace.
"It's a great way to start out the tournament," said Djokovic. "I think I've done everything as well as I imagined it could be for the first match.
"Of course, there's things that always can be improved, things that can be better. But I have to be satisfied with the performance."
Elsewhere in the ATP 500 event on Monday, there were wins for Russian duo Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev.
Khachanov won 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 against Mikhail Kukushkin, while Rublev battled to a 6-4 6-4 triumph over Italian qualifier Lorenzo Musetti.
Richard Gasquet secured a hard-earned 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory in his contest with Lloyd Harris, while Philipp Kohlschreiber booked a round-two meeting with Djokovic when he recovered from losing the first set to eliminate wildcard Mohamed Safwat.
Jabeur reached the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open last season but was unable to build on that strong finish to 2022 at the start of this year.
The Tunisian exited the Australian Open in the second round, having complained of a knee injury.
Jabeur said after her defeat to Marketa Vondrousova she would need "time to recover and get healthier", and she has not been seen on the WTA Tour since.
The Qatar Open was due to see Jabeur's return next week, but an Instagram post has now confirmed she will miss both that tournament and the subsequent Dubai Tennis Championships.
"In order to take care of my health situation, my medical team have decided that I need to get a minor surgery in order to be back on the courts and perform well," she wrote.
"I will have to retire from Doha and Dubai, and this is breaking my heart.
"I would like to say sorry to all the fans out there in the Middle East that waited for this reunion.
"I promise I will come back to you stronger and healthy."
Ostapenko, who is the world number 21, stunned Halep in their first meeting in the 2017 Roland Garros final to win her first Grand Slam before the Romanian exacted revenge in Beijing later that season.
In their first meeting since that last-four clash, Halep raced out the blocks to wrap the first set in just 27 minutes as she converted both break-point opportunities to take an early lead.
However, Ostapenko responded emphatically in the following set, claiming a 3-0 advantage before eventually levelling things up after a one-sided tie-break separated the pair in the second.
Ostapenko carried her momentum in the deciding set as she made a blistering start, with Halep unable to win a single game as the 24-year-old secured victory in an hour and 36 minutes.
Kudermetova awaits the Latvian in the final after Marketa Vondrousova was forced to withdraw from her last-four match due to a right adductor injury.
The pair have not met before on the WTA Tour but boast identical records at the start of the 2022 season, with both winning eight of their matches and losing three.
Ostapenko eased to a 6-0 6-4 win in just 65 minutes, which is expected to take her up to number 13 in the rankings, the first time the former world number five will have been in the top 20 since October 2018.
An impressive week for the Latvian has seen her beat Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova, and Simona Halep on her way to the final, and she never looked like slipping up here.
It was consistency that made the difference, with Ostapenko winning 63.6 per cent of points on her first serve, but also an impressive 58.3 per cent on her second.
She took the first set in just 23 minutes, with her serve allowing her to zip through games with ease as Kudermetova had no answer to it, or indeed her returns.
The Russian recovered well in the second set and earned an early break, but things soon swung back to take Ostapenko to 5-3 and serving for the title. Kudermetova managed to break, only for her opponent to do the same to seal the win.
Having made headlines after his semi-final triumph over Hubert Hurkacz by writing "no war please" on a television camera in protest at Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Rublev wrapped up his third title in just a matter of days in emphatic fashion, after winning both the singles and doubles titles at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille last week.
The Russian world number seven had needed three sets in each of his last three contests but wrapped up a more straightforward victory against his Czech opponent, who had defeated 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic en route to the final.
Rublev broke Vesely's serve in the fourth game of the contest, not dropping a single point behind his first serve as he roared to a 6-3 win in the opening set.
The 24-year-old then broke again in the opening game of the second set, before the Czech, ranked number 123 in the world, battled back bravely to level the set at 3-3.
Rublev responded in brutal fashion, however, immediately breaking again and going on to seal a comfortable victory, hitting just eight unforced errors throughout the contest, as he claimed his 10th career title.
The victory made it 13 match wins in a row for Rublev across singles and doubles after his successful time in Marseille, where he successfully teamed up with Ukrainian Denys Molchanov for a symbolic doubles triumph.
"I was lucky today, and that's why I am happy to be the champion, I didn't expect this," said Rublev. "It's an amazing feeling and I don't know what to say."
Rublev had won 23 consecutive matches at this level, second only to Roger Federer (28), but Karatsev finally ended the Russian's remarkable run to progress to his first ATP singles final.
Karatsev, who incredibly went from qualifying to the semi-finals of the Australian Open this year, defeated his compatriot 6-2 4-6 6-4.
He became the first Wild Card to reach the final since Thomas Muster in 1997, doing so by hitting 41 winners and forcing 16 break points – of which he won four – during two hours and 12 minutes on court.
"It was a really tight match [against a] tough opponent," Karatsev said in his on-court interview.
"It was an unbelievable performance [from Andrey]. He didn't lose a match at an ATP 500 in [one year]. Everything was decided in one or two points, I feel happy."
The championship match will be between two first-time Dubai finalists after Lloyd Harris stunned Denis Shapovalov in the other semi-final.
World number 81 Harris, who overcame top seed Dominic Thiem, 14th seed Filip Krajinovic and former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori to reach the last four, came from a set and 4-2 down to defeat world number 12 Shapovalov.
He prevailed 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) to reach a maiden ATP 500 final and become the first qualifier to reach the showpiece in Dubai.
"I don't have many words right now. I am super happy with that win," Harris said on court afterwards.
"Being a set and 2-4 down is mentally and physically a little bit troublesome for me, but I found my best tennis from there. I am just extremely happy with the result right now."
Rybakina was beaten in last season's Dubai decider by Simona Halep, one of five WTA Tour finals she reached in a breakout year.
The Kazakh, with two career titles to her name, has not played a final since September, however, and entered this week's tournament with a 4-4 record for 2021.
But her fine form in Dubai continued with a straightforward first match, beating Zheng Saisai 6-0 6-4 in 73 minutes.
"I lost a bit of concentration in the second set," number 14 seed Rybakina said. "Also Saisai played well - she decided to risk stepping in on the returns - so overall I think it was not a bad match."
Garbine Muguruza also built on a final defeat, having come up short in Saturday's Qatar Open decider, thrashed by Petra Kvitova.
Including that event, Muguruza has reached the showpiece match at two of the four tournaments she has entered prior to this latest campaign, which began with a 6-3 7-5 win over Irina-Camelia Begu.
Fellow seeds Madison Keys, Marketa Vondrousova and Anett Kontaveit each also raced through in straight sets.
Petra Martic could not join them, however, going down 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 to Kristina Mladenovic.
Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula continued her rich vein of form in a dominant 6-2 6-1 defeat of Yaroslava Shvedova.
The American reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and the last four as a qualifier in Qatar, meaning she is now 11-2 since heading to Melbourne.
One-time French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko also triumphed, while former Roland Garros semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova, still just 19, made a victorious 2021 WTA bow.
But three-time grand slam champion Angelique Kerber continues to struggle for momentum, letting a set lead slip to lose to Caroline Garcia.
Sabalenka, playing in her first event since claiming a maiden grand slam title in Melbourne, recovered from falling behind in style to win 2-6 6-1 6-1 on Wednesday.
Ostapenko won the tournament last year and looked to be in with a chance of extending her winning streak in Dubai to seven matches.
But Sabalenka launched a strong recovery to reach the quarter-finals and extend a stunning run to start the season to 13 consecutive wins.
The second seed tightened up her game in the second and third sets and will face either Petra Kvitova or Barbora Krejcikova in the last eight.
Sabalenka had been broken three times by Ostapenko in the opening set, but she only had to fend off one break point from there.
"In the first set, she played unbelievable tennis and I couldn't do anything," Sabalenka said.
"I was looking at my team asking like, 'What can I do?', but somehow, I turned around this game and started playing really incredible tennis.
"She plays really fast, deep balls, and I tried to stay super low, stay focused, and try to put more balls in than she did. I'm so happy that I did it."
A lower back injury for Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina robbed supporters of what had looked like being a thrilling matchup against Coco Gauff.
The withdrawal of Rybakina meant Gauff progressed via a walkover and will face fellow American Madison Keys next.
Keys and Gauff have played twice before, winning one match apiece.
It was Gauff who won their most recent encounter in the third round of the US Open last year.
Top seed Iga Swiatek had earlier booked her place in the last eight, with the Pole's latest dominant showing in Dubai earning praise on social media from Andy Murray.
And news followed that Karolina Pliskova, her semi-final opponent, had been forced to withdraw.
Swiatek benefited from a walkover in the quarter-finals en route to winning the Qatar Open last week and is now only two wins away from another title.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, the 12th favourite in the United Arab Emirates, eased past Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-1 to make a dominant start.
World number 15 Samsonova was made to work to beat Paula Badosa, winning 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to tee up a clash with Qinwen Zheng, who overcame compatriot Zhang Shuai in straight sets.
Samsonova's triumph took three hours and 22 minutes, the longest match of the WTA Tour season thus far, in a thrilling first-round encounter between two top-20 players.
"Playing against Paula is always tough," 14th seed Samsonova said in her on-court interview. "She's doing unbelievable, so I'm really proud that I stayed on the court until the end.
"I think I'm growing match after match, day by day. I know it's a long journey, and I hope to continue like that."
Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, cruised into the last 32 with a comfortable 6-4 6-2 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu as she aims to go one better than her runners-up finish two years ago in Dubai.
Another routine victory saw American Madison Keys ease past Jasmine Paolini 6-1 6-1, but there was no such luck for 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
She was dispatched 6-1 6-1 by world number 26 Marie Bouzkova, while Amanda Anisimova claimed a 6-3 6-2 win over veteran two-time grand slam finalist Vera Zvonareva.
Viktoriya Tomova had too much for Kaia Kanepi in a 6-3 6-1 success, with her reward a second-round clash against third seed Jessica Pegula.
World number four Pegula lost to the in-form Iga Swiatek in the Qatar Ladies Open final on Saturday, and Leylah Fernandez will face the Pole next after beating Julia Grabher 6-4 6-2.
The third seed struck 26 winners en route to a 7-5 6-4 triumph on Thursday, but it was his serve that pleased him most.
Shapovalov, ranked 12th in the world, sent down 10 aces as Frenchman Chardy was deprived of any break-point openings.
"I've focused on my serve a lot in the past couple of weeks," the Canadian said.
"I have worked on placing it and tried out different types of serves to have more variation. I hope I can continue that.
"I've also worked on my footwork and positioning during rallies. I am feeling the ball well on both sides. If I am moving well, everything goes into place."
Harris was a surprise winner over Kei Nishikori, sealing a 6-1 3-6 6-3 success to dump out the former world number four.
Second seed Andrey Rublev defeated Marton Fucsovics 7-5 6-2 and will now face fellow Russian Aslan Karatsev.
Wildcard Karatsev continued his run with a hard-fought victory over teenager Jannik Sinner, coming from a set down in a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 win.
The 19-year-old rising star, who won the Great Ocean Road Open last month, prevailed in a match that remained in the balance until the end on Wednesday.
Sinner won 6-4 3-6 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals, with Bautista Agut following top seed Dominic Thiem - who lost in the second round - out of the tournament.
After hitting 16 aces, Sinner – the youngest player in the ATP Tour top 100 – will face surprise Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev next.
Second seed Andrey Rublev is through after a comfortable 6-3 6-1 win over Taylor Fritz.
Rublev will face Marton Fucsovics, who ousted Serbian Dusan Lajovic in three sets, in the last eight.
The Russian now has 22 consecutive wins at ATP 500 events, a run that has included four titles at that level. Only Roger Federer has ever recorded a longer streak, doing so with a run of 28 between 2014 and 2016.
"I am really happy that I can win in straight sets and quite confidently," Rublev said.
"I know Taylor since [the] juniors and it is always tough to play against him, because he has a huge serve and he is playing really fast.
"The first set was not even rallies because everything was serve, winner or serve, mistake, so everything was so fast.
"In these conditions, it is tough to find the rhythm. You don't know what's going to happen and it's really not easy, but I'm happy that in the end I made it."
Third seed Denis Shapovalov is also through after a 6-4 6-3 win over Hubert Hurkacz, the Canadian booking a last-eight meeting with Jeremy Chardy.
Kei Nishikori will play Lloyd Harris in the other quarter-final.
After losing the first set, the world number 10 staved off defeat in a nerve-wracking second-set tie-break.
The fourth seed clung on as Davidovich Fokina saw a trio of opportunities to clinch a shock win go begging, the Spaniard made to pay as his Italian counterpart fought back to prevail 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-3.
Sinner, who will next face former world number one Andy Murray, said: "It was a very tough match. I know him, but we've never played against each other.
"It was the first time for both of us and it was a tricky one, saving three match points. On the first one I got lucky because it was out, but not so far [out]."
Second favourite Andrey Rublev won both the singles and doubles titles in Marseille last week and continued his fine form with a 6-4 7-5 win over Daniel Evans that saw the Russian send down 28 winners.
Sixth seed Denis Shapovalov had to recover from a set down to see off Marton Fucsovics, though fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz enjoyed a more routine straight-sets triumph over Alexander Bublik.
Eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut made relatively light work of Arthur Rinderknech but defending champion and seventh seed Aslan Karatsev was stunned 7-5 6-3 by Mackenzie McDonald.
Karen Khachanov needed a little shy of three hours to beat Alex de Minaur, his dubious reward a second-round clash with Novak Djokovic as the world number one continues his return to the Tour following his controversial Australian Open absence.
It only took 76 minutes for the number one seed to record a 6-1 6-0 triumph on Wednesday, continuing a fine run after her triumph in Qatar last week.
Swiatek had only narrowly beaten Samsonova in an epic three-set encounter in the Stuttgart semi-finals last year, but was completely dominant this time around at the WTA 1000 event.
Samsonova struggled in recording a first-serve percentage of just 58.5, and Swiatek was ruthless in winning 19 of 22 points on the Russian's second serve.
Swiatek did not even have to fend off a break point in cruising to victory and will play Karolina Pliskova in the quarters.
Pliskova, the two-time grand slam finalist, battled to a 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 win over Anhelina Kalinina to reach the last eight in Dubai for the fifth time in her career.
There were also two American successes, with Madison Keys needing only 57 minutes to beat Victoria Azarenka, who appeared to be struggling with her movement.
Keys had lost all of her previous four meetings with Azarenka but triumphed 6-2 6-1 in routine fashion.
And Jessica Pegula joined her compatriot in progressing, winning her first career meeting with Ana Bogdan in straight sets.
Elsewhere, 2019 winner Belinda Bencic crashed out, with Karolina Muchova, who also knocked out Maria Sakkari this week, triumphing 6-1 6-4 to book a quarter-final date with Pegula.
The world number one cruised to a 6-1 6-1 triumph over 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, just three days after winning the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha.
That marked Swiatek's 41st main-draw victory in WTA 1000 events in just her 53rd outing, only Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova (52 each) have won more than 40 such matches in fewer attempts.
The 21-year-old has won her last 35 hard-court matches against opponents ranked outside the world's top 30, though Swiatek said she had to adapt against Canada's Fernandez.
"It wasn't that easy for sure. It was much tougher than the score said," said Swiatek, who will look to make the fourth round for the first time in Dubai when she faces Liudmila Samsonova.
"In the second set... I needed to go a level up. I didn't have much time to get used to the conditions, but I'm just happy I could play solid tennis."
Jessica Pegula, the third favourite at the tournament, defeated Viktoriya Tomova 6-2 5-7 6-1 to set up a third-round battle with Ana Bogdan, who overcame Shelby Rogers 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.
Fifth seed Coco Gauff coasted past Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a 6-0 6-4 victory, teeing up a meeting with Elena Rybakina, who slammed six aces in a 7-5 6-2 defeat of Marie Bouzkova.
World number two Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Rybakina at this year's Australian Open final, made light work of lucky loser Lauren Davis in a straight-sets rout as she claimed her 12th straight win in 2023.
Dubai's defending champion Jelena Ostapenko will be the next challenge for Sabalenka after defeating 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova for her seventh straight win at the event.
Barbora Krejcikova saved four match points en route to a 6-4 4-6 7-5 win over seventh seed Daria Kasatkina and will meet Karolina Pliskova next after she downed sixth favourite Maria Sakkari in straight sets.
Belinda Bencic and Marta Kostyuk played out the match of the day as the former claimed a 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph, with that clash taking three hours and 27 minutes – the second-longest on the WTA Tour this year.
Sabalenka fought back from a set down to end the title defence of Jelena Ostapenko a day earlier, but she came up short against Barbora Krejcikova as her Czech opponent overcame a tough first set to run out a 0-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 victor.
Sabalenka, playing in her first event since claiming a maiden grand slam title in Melbourne, romped into the lead by breaking Krejcikova's serve three times to go a set ahead.
But the world number two was pegged back in the second as Krejcikova battled to force a tie-break, which she dominated to level the match.
Krejcikova then completed the shock victory in style, breaking the second seed twice in the final set before clinching the win on her third match point to end Sabalenka's run of 13 straight triumphs.
Karolina Muchova's withdrawal due to an abdominal injury means it is Jessica Pegula who will face Krejcikova in the semi-finals on Friday.
After Swiatek reached the final four by virtue of Karolina Pliskova pulling out because of an illness, Gauff set up a sixth meeting with the world number one by beating Madison Keys 6-2 7-5.
In those five previous clashes between the pair, Gauff is yet to win a set.
But after cruising past Keys, doing so by converting four of five break points and winning 90 per cent of her service games, Gauff is confident of improving her dismal record against Swiatek on Friday.
"All five times, I did something wrong," Gauff said. "To be honest, she's playing great tennis and there's a reason she's world number one.
"Tomorrow I have no pressure. I just have to play my game. I definitely think I've gotten better since the last time I played her.
"Ranking is just a number at the end of the day. You just have to step on the court believing you can win, and that's what I'm going to do tomorrow."
The unseeded Halep, who was champion in 2020, needed just an hour and 11 minutes to see off Alison Riske 6-2 6-4 as she looks to climb back up the rankings.
The two-time grand slam winner went into this week ranked 23rd in the world after a difficult 2021 that was ravaged by injury, but she was in fine form against Riske. She showed good spirit to dig herself out of a hole in the second set and save two break points – the American's only ones in the entire match – in the fourth game.
Swiatek, seeded sixth, was even more comfortable against Daria Kasatkina, defeating the Russian 6-1 6-2 in just 65 minutes.
Kasatkina had no answer to Swiatek in the first set and, by the time she started to gain some form of momentum, she was already a set and a break down.
Swiatek had few issues closing out the match and was joined in the second round by Petra Kvitova, who dropped just two games en route to an emphatic 6-2 6-0 defeat of Camila Giorgi.
Krejcikova was the highest seed in action. The Czech, who lost to Garbine Muguruza in last year's final, was given a tougher examination than some of her rivals, with wildcard Caroline Garcia putting up a solid fight.
Krejcikova came through 6-4 7-6 (7-0) in the end, blowing the Frenchwoman away in the second-set tie-break, though she will surely have to sharpen up if she is to go one better than 2021 – the 26-year-old hit just 12 winners to 28 unforced errors.
There was also a victory for Jessica Pegula in an all-American affair with Coco Gauff that included 10 breaks of serve – the former won 6-4 6-4.
Clara Tauson's dream run at the Dubai Tennis Championships continued on Friday as she booked her place in her first WTA 1000 final.
The 18-year-old beat Swiss opponent Viktorija Golubic 6-4 6-1 in a final contested by two qualifiers, achieving her breakthrough win in an hour and 29 minutes.
Golubic saved five match points but eventually was put away by Tauson, who has spent most of her senior career to date on the second-tier ITF tour.
She caused a major shock at the French Open in September by beating US Open semi-finalist Jennifer Brady in the first round, and Tauson should now become a more familiar presence at the higher level.
The win carries the youngster into the WTA top 100 for the first time, and it completed an impeccable trip to France that saw Tauson win all seven of her matches, including two qualifying rounds, in straight sets.
She said of her performance: "I think I've been really solid; especially after the first set, I've come out good in every single match."
Quoted on the WTA website, Tauson added: "I just kept my game going. It's been a weird week like that, normally I have some fall-outs, but I haven't had any of those this week, so I'm very happy with that."
Tauson shocked Russian top seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round at the start of the week in Lyon, and Alexandrova lost to another teenager on Sunday as the Dubai Tennis Championships began.
The world number 33 was handed a tough draw against American Coco Gauff, who scraped through 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 7-6 (10-8) in a match lasting two hours and 41 minutes.
Gauff served 12 double faults, including seven in the deciding set, but found a way through to the second round.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ons Jabeur and Alize Cornet were among the other winners on day one. The top eight seeds, who include Iga Swiatek, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina and Petra Kvitova, have all received byes to round two of the WTA 1000 event.
