The most effective all the time come to Dubai. Within the final 30 years, the Dubai Obligation Free Tennis Championships has welcomed among the high gamers within the recreation. Roger Federer of Switzerland, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Rafael Nadal of Spain and Andy Murray of the UK have turned up on the Dubai Tennis Stadium. So have Andre Agassi of the USA, Boris Becker of Germany and Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia. Gamers love the Dubai occasion, which was voted the ATP 500 Event of the Yr 11 occasions since 2003.
Federer leads the champions record with eight titles, adopted by Djokovic with 5. The winners’ roster of the ATP 500 event additionally contains Austrian Thomas Muster, Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero and American Andy Roddick.
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Djokovic, recent from his Australian Open triumph, returns to Dubai in quest of a sixth title because the 31edition will get underway on Sunday, February 26. The Melbourne win was his twenty second Grand Slam which tied the Serbian World No. 1 with Nadal for many Grand Slam males’s singles titles in historical past, moreover a document 10 Australian Open titles. He’s additionally considered one of three males to carry all 4 Grand Slam championships concurrently; the others are Don Budge and Rod Laver.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic poses with the Australian Open trophy in Melbourne on January 30, 2023. With the win, Djokovic tied with Spaniard Rafael Nadal for many Grand Slam males’s singles titles in historical past.
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Nadal was to have returned to Dubai after 15 years. However the Spaniard, who beat Federer within the 2006 ultimate, had hoped so as to add a Dubai second title this 12 months. However his plans have been derailed by a hip damage sustained through the Australian Open when he was knocked out within the second spherical by Mackenzie McDonald of the USA.
Whereas Nadal’s damage has been a setback for Dubai followers, the excellent news is the inclusion of Murray, who obtained a wild card. Like Nadal, Murray’s profession too has been tormented by accidents, and he was pressured to overlook the Australian Open and the ATP Cup finals.
Britain’s Andy Murray performs towards Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka within the semifinals of the Qatar Open in Doha on February 24, 2023. World No. 70 Murray obtained a wild card for the Dubai Obligation Free Tennis Event.
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Britain’s Andy Murray performs towards Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka within the semifinals of the Qatar Open in Doha on February 24, 2023. World No. 70 Murray obtained a wild card for the Dubai Obligation Free Tennis Event.
Picture Credit score: AFP
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev returns the ball to Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime within the semifinals of the Qatar Open in Doha on February 24, 2023. Medvedev is likely one of the seeds on the Dubai Obligation Free Tennis Event.
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Russia’s Andrey Rublev returns the ball to Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor (not pictured) throughout a tennis match on the Qatar Open in Doha on February 22, 2023. Rublev will seen in motion in Dubai.
Picture Credit score: AFP
Andy Murray’s comeback path
The three-time Grand Slam, who had a hip alternative in 2019, has struck a purple patch in Doha. He survived a slew of three-setters to achieve the Qatar Open ultimate — his first ATP ultimate in eight months. And that’s nice information for tennis buffs.
Eight high 20 gamers will seem in Dubai, making for some thrilling contests. Russians Andrey Rublev (No. 5)_and Daniil Medvedev (No. 8) will likely be there. Rublev, 25, will likely be hoping to make amends for his quarterfinal loss in Doha, the place Medvedev thrived to achieve the Qatar Open ultimate, the place he squares off with Murray.
2021 US Open winner Medvedev had overwhelmed World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime within the Doha semifinal. In Dubai, Canadian Auger-Aliassime, 22, who suffered six defeats by the hands of Medvedev, will get an opportunity to avenge the losses and add to his 4 titles.
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The genial World No. 11 Hubert Hurkacz, who has been having a advantageous run on the Open 13 Provence, will fly in from France. The most effective males’s participant in Poland’s historical past (the preferred one is girls’s World No. 1 Iga Swiatek), Hurkacz had a breakout 12 months in 2021 and now owns 5 titles.
Karen Khachanov of Russia, Alexander Zverev of Germany, Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain and Borna Coric of Croatia full the record of eight high 20 gamers within the fray.
World No. 14 Khachanov, 26, has had run making the semifinals of two majors, back-to-back. He misplaced to Caspar Rudd of Norway at Flushing Meadows, failing to transform some essential factors. However the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas proved too robust for the Russian, who fought a four-setter on the Rod Laver Area in Melbourne.
Zverev, 25, was one of many victims of 35-year-old Murray’s sensational run within the Qatar Open in a three-setter that stretched over three hours. However the German World No. 16, who has gained 19 titles, can take coronary heart from his victory over Djokovic within the World Tennis League for Crew Hawks.
Carreno Busta, 31, hasn’t been having the most effective of occasions lately. A bronze-medallist on the Tokyo Olympics, the Spanish World No. 17 suffered a second-round loss in Australian Open and was upset by French veteran Richard Gasquet within the first spherical in Rotterdam.
World No. 20 Coric, who crashed to a shock first-round defeat to Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in Melbourne, skipped the Rotterdam occasion as a consequence of “some minor points together with his hip”. The 26-year-old quarterfinalist at Montepellier involves Dubai to return to his finest.
All eyes will likely be on Djokovic and Murray. Whereas the top-seeded Serbian is an amazing favorite, Murray will cherish each win together with his new hip. Britons in Dubai will hope for a repeat of Doha. With Murray and Djokovic round, there can by no means be a boring second.