After his early exit in Melbourne, Andy Murray could not have wished for a better comeback in Dubai as he lifted the ATP 500 title for the first time in his career.

A disappointing start to the year, which also involved defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Qatar Open and a recent bout of shingles, was firmly put behind the world number one as he completely overpowered and outmaneuvered a dispirited Fernando Verdasco in the final to win 6-3, 6-2 in straightforward fashion.

The week in Dubai turned out to be a brilliant run for the29-year-old, as he dropped only a single set ahead of the Masters 1000 events at Indian Wells and Miami, this month, where he will be aiming to dethrone a seething Djokovic, who has won the coast to coast title sweep for the last three successive years.

Indeed, after collecting his first triumph of 2017 already, the pressure on Murray’s shoulders going into the next few tournaments will have considerably been relieved and his confidence and assuredness will have been restored.

Certainly, the victory over an inspired Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarter-finals was the best of the lot as he again showed his renowned steely determination and resolve to save seven match points in a 31-minute second set tiebreaker before eventually edging out the German on his way to the final.

Before the tournament, Murray would have been expecting to play seven-time champion, Roger Federer in the last four, however, that prospect was quashed when the Swiss incredibly crashed out in the second round to qualifier Evgeny Donskoy.

Federer appeared odds-on to win after taking the first set easily, but the failure to convert three match points was his undoing as Donskoy came back and won in a third set tiebreaker.

The 35-year-old played well throughout the match but was clearly missing the tenacity and energy from his great triumph in Australia. Although it was perhaps inevitable, after winning his first grand slam for nearly five years, that Federer’s motivation levels would drop a little, the Swiss will hope to put this poor defeat behind him and regain his momentum by getting back on the bike at Indian Wells this week.

Elsewhere, surprises became a theme on the 25th anniversary of the Dubai Duty Free Open as another shock came in round one when a disappointing performance from Stan Wawrinka saw the 31-year-old defeated in straight sets to world no. 67 Damir Dzumhur.

Whilst, the Swiss was recovering from a knee injury and that he played with little pain will be something of a positive, the fact that he finds it hard to replicate the form, which has seen him win three grand slams since 2014, on a consistent basis in regular tour events will be of real concern.

Nevertheless, despite his and Federer’s woes, all the talk in Dubai is on Murray and with another title under his arm, the Scot will be hoping to steal the headlines along the North American coast in the next few weeks once again.