Dubai, Mar 1 (AP) Top-ranked Novak Djokovic held on to beat Czech qualifier Tomas Machac 6-3 3-6 7-6 (1) at the Dubai Championships in his first match since winning his 10th Australian Open title.

Djokovic's first-round victory on Tuesday came a day after the 35-year-old Serb broke the record for the most time spent at No. 1 in the professional tennis rankings by a man or woman.

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Djokovic was a bit rusty on his return from a few weeks off after overcoming a hamstring problem in Australia to win his record-equaling 22nd Grand Slam singles title. He led 4-1 in the third set Tuesday before the 130th-ranked Machac forced a tiebreaker.

"He was giving me all kinds of trouble, but I guess when it mattered I found another gear," Djokovic said in his on-court interview.

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"I haven't played much tennis (recently), so I'm hoping as the tournament progresses I can raise the level."

Djokovic, who next faces Tallon Griekspoor, is 13-0 this season and extended his overall winning streak to 18 matches.

A presentation was held after Tuesday's match to recognize Djokovic's 378th week in the ATP's top spot, surpassing Steffi Graf's 377 leading the WTA.

"As a young boy growing up in Serbia, I dreamt of two things — winning Wimbledon and being No. 1 in the world. I've been blessed to achieve both of my childhood dreams, several times," he said.

Also on Tuesday, third-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat Matteo Arnaldi 6-4 6-2 to extend his winning streak to 10 matches.

Fourth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Maxime Cressy 7-6(4) 3-6 6-3 and Botic van de Zandschulp beat sixth-seeded Karen Khachanov 7-5 6-2. AP

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)