The Indian fought hard but could not match the firepower of the former world number one, who won 6-3, 6-3.
In doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes posted a 6-4, 6-1 victory over the Djokivic brothers, Novak and Marko in the first round.
Earlier, Australian Open champion Djokovic began his bid for a third successive Dubai title with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over France's Michael Llodra.
Back on court for the first time since he beat Andy Murray in Melbourne three weeks ago, the second seeded Serbian was barely troubled by his opponent. Choosing to serve and volley at every opportunity, Llodra provided an easy target for Djokovic to pass, and he also missed a number of balls at the net.
Seventh seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis lasted only 23 minutes against Kazak Andrey Golubev, losing the first four games before retiring with illness, and Serbian sixth seed Troicki was beaten 6-1, 7-6 by Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Nikolay Davydenko toverwhelmed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-2, 6-0.