Shelton edged a tight opening set against 12th seed Rublev after nearly an hour on court.

In response to a question about whether Saudi Arabia had rejected Messi, he replied: "That's true."

Saudi sports events are routinely accused of being used as a distraction from human rights violations, a practice dubbed "sportswashing".

India batsman Shreyas Iyer said he was "getting better every passing day" after lacerating his spleen when falling heavily in a one-day clash against Australia.