Alex de Minaur suffered a shock first-round exit at the Dubai Tennis Championships after being beaten across three sets by Marin Cilic. 

De Minaur, the second seed at the tournament, was no match for his opponent, who emerged a 6-2 3-6 6-3 victor in two hours and 18 minutes. 

Cilic raced into a 4-0 lead following back-to-back breaks of serve, and though De Minaur rallied, the Croatian's early surge proved pivotal as he claimed the opening set.

The second set was tightly contested, but a break of serve in the eighth game in favour of De Minaur ensured the 26-year-old was able to take the encounter to a decider. 

But Cilic remained composed despite his earlier setback, claiming match point when he followed up a fierce serve with a brilliantly placed volley to seal an impressive victory. 

The world number 187's reward for his win is a clash with Alexei Popyrin, who beat Hady Habib in straight sets on Monday. 

BIG win alert

The moment @cilic_marin knocks out No. 2 seed de Minaur with a stunning performance 6-2 3-6 6-3 @DDFTennis | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/0xyDvHlyiZ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 25, 2025

Data Debrief: Rolling back the years

Cilic showed signs of encouragement in his first match of 2025 with a strong performance against Carlos Alcaraz at the Qatar Open, and he used that momentum to great effect against De Minaur in Dubai. 

Perhaps critically, Cilic saved five of the seven break points he faced, while also converting all four he created himself. Indeed, it was his first victory over a top 10 opponent since beating Andrey Rublev in the French Open quarter-finals back in 2022. 

For De Minaur, meanwhile, it was his first opening round match defeat since last June, when he was beaten by Lorenzo Musetti at Queen's Club.