After an exciting ATP 500 draw, the 31st Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will feature exhilarating matchups
Dubai – Asdaf News:
The official draw for the ATP 500 tournament at the 31st Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships revealed a tantalizing range of intriguing first-round matchups and hinted at some eye-catching potential pairings between high seeds, well-known veterans, and up-and-coming prospects.
Four of the world’s Top-10 players, including multiple Grand Slam champions with a combined 26 big four titles between them, as well as the next generation of tennis legends make up the ATP 500 lineup, which is led by World No. 1 and recent Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.
In the official draw on Saturday, 16 matches were determined for the first Round of 32. (R32). Players may only participate in four matches before the final on March 4, but as the games progressed, a number of tantalizing pipeline encounters emerged.
Djokovic will begin his bid for a sixth Dubai championship against a qualifier or fortunate loser on the opposite end of the draw from Andrey Rublev, the defending champion and second seed, who will take on Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic, the 67th-ranked player in the world, in the round of 32.
In the first round, fifth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland will take on 2017 Dubai champion Andy Murray; should any of the two advance from their Round of 16 match, Djokovic might be their quarterfinal opponent. Due to the fact that Djokovic’s half of the draw is occupied by all five qualifiers, third seed Daniil Medvedev, who might face Djokovic in the semifinals, will also play a qualifier in Round of 32.
“Over the years, this tournament has created terrific excitement in Dubai, and grown to become one of the world’s best-regarded tournaments,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free. “We have a very strong line-up this year and the draw has produced some fascinating matches that will excite our loyal fans. Every year, we strive to make the event more compelling, and give tennis fans from both the UAE and overseas the maximum amount of fun. We look forward to an exciting week of tennis and wish all the players the best of luck.”
In other first-round matches, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the fourth seed and World No. 9, takes on American Maxime Cressy, the World No. 37, while Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the World No. 16 and seventh seed in Dubai, will play World No. 52 Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic. Zverev could face Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals. Sixth seed Karen Khachanov begins his Dubai campaign against Botic Van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in the same half of the draw. Rublev might meet Khachanov in the quarterfinals.
British No.1 Daniel Evans will play Croatian eighth seed and world No.20 Borna Coric in the first round.
Speaking during the draw, Salah Tahlak, Joint COO of Dubai Duty Free, and Tournament Director of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, said, “The draw has opened the door to some thrilling confrontations between elite players and we cannot wait for the competitions to begin.”
The final three players who will get wildcards into the main draw were also announced by Tahak. The first was Thannasi Kokkinakis of Australia, who won the Doubles title at the 2022 Australian Open with Nick Kyrgios. In R32, Kokkinakis will take on a qualifier. The second wildcard was seasoned player Malik Jaziri, and Tahlak has confirmed that the Tunisian, who will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain in Round 32, would retire after the Dubai tournament.
Alexei Popyrin, a 23-year-old Australian citizen and resident of Dubai, received the final wildcard. He will make his first appearance in Dubai in Round 32 against a qualifier before Murray or Hurkacz await him in Round 16.–WAM
