DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Novak Djokovic opened the defence of his Dubai Championships title with a straight sets victory over Denis Istomin, while second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro had to retire from his first-round match on Tuesday. Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions. "I needed to work for my games. "Having not played for more than four, five weeks, an official match, obviously it takes its toll on the court." Djokovic saved all four break points he faced on serve and broke Istomin three times -- in the third and ninth games of the first set and in the second game of the second set. Del Potro was not so fortunate, being forced to retire against Somdev Devvarman of India after losing the first-set tiebreaker 7-6 (3). Since winning the Sydney title last month, Del Potro has been struggling with a left wrist injury that has conjured up memories of similar pain he experienced in his right wrist four years ago. In 2010, the year after he won the U.S. Open, he played only three tournaments before and after surgery on his right wrist. Del Potro was fighting back tears in Dubai when he came to talk to the media after his retirement. "I dont feel really well," he said. "My wrist is hurting a lot and everybody knows what happened to me four years ago with my other wrist. "It was really tough to play today. I tried everything. I cannot be the player I would like to be." Having felt the pain in his left wrist during the Australian Open, Del Potro went at the end of January to consult with Dr. Richard Berger, who performed his right wrist surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The doctor recommended a course of physical therapy. Asked if he would have kept playing if he won the first set, Del Potro said: "I dont think so, no. It was hurting too much." Devvarman, a wild card who won a challenger in New Delhi last week, hit a service winner on his third set point in the tiebreaker. That proved to be the final point of the match. "Its unfortunate, especially for a guy like him," Devvarman said. "I realized he wasnt comfortable hitting backhands and I tried to make him hit as many as I could, and he wasnt really hitting over it so I knew he wasnt happy." Third-seeded Tomas Berdych extended his winning streak to eight matches with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Romanian qualifier Marius Copil. Berdych, who reached the final in Dubai last year, won the Rotterdam title two weeks ago. Fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France secured a 6-2, 6-4 win over Victor Hanescu of Romania. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . 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NFL Jerseys 2020 . A police inspector told The Associated Press the crane operator is not yet suspected of any wrongdoing but is considered a key witness to the accident at the Arena Corinthians. ST. JOHNS, N.L. -- The St Johns IceCaps got an early preview of what it will take to win in the post-season. Jerome Samson scored the eventual winner as St. Johns defeated the visiting Springfield Falcons 3-1 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. The IceCaps currently sit in fourth spot in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Springfield, while the Falcons are just one of two clubs in the East to have already clinched a playoff spot. "That is the kind of team, the kind of squad, we are going to have to beat in the playoffs down the road," said Samson. "The kind of game we played, to be hanging around 3-0 and almost get the shutout, it shows a lot and builds up our confidence." Samsons goal came on what he described as a "broken play" at 10:55 of the second period and gave St. Johns a two-goal advantage. "I took a shot off a defenceman and then the puck was kind of scrambling and then (Brenden) Kichton ended up behind the net," said Samson. "I got open on the side of the net and the goalie was kind of swimming in the crease a little bit, so that helped me. It was a huge goal for us, to get the two-goal lead."; John Albert had a pair of goals for the IceCaps (42-22-6) while Tyler Beskorowany made 23 saves for the victory.dddddddddddd. Patrick McNeill replied for the Falcons (44-21-6). Jeremy Smith stopped 28 shots in defeat. Albert opened the scoring for the IceCaps when he picked up a loose puck off a rebound and buried a low wrist shot 4:34 into the first period. Albert added his second, finishing off a 2-on-1 give-and-go with captain Jason Jaffray 15:13 into the second period. McNeill put the Falcons on the board with a point shot that hit off a skate on the way through with 4:33 left in regulation time. St. Johns head coach Keith McCambridge was satisfied with his clubs effort, especially in the defensive zone, just one night after allowing eight goals against in a loss to Springfield. "I was impressed with the level we played at," he said. "I thought our attention (towards) the areas we thought we had to get better at, (things) that we werent at our peak performance in with regards to last night-- we were able to get offensive opportunities and keep pucks out of our net by bearing down and making sure we are strong in front of net." ' ' '