(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Following the release of the ATP line-up, there is mounting excitement in Dubai as tennis fans prepare to welcome back many of the best players from the ATP World Tour for the 25th anniversary edition of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships trophy next month.
The fantastic field is headed by Wimbledon, Olympic and ATP World Tour Finals champion and world number one Andy Murray, who this month was knighted for his services both to sport and for his charity work.
Last year he claimed nine titles, including a staggering five in a row as he closed out the season by winning Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna, Paris and London, establishing a 24-match winning streak as well as himself as the number one player in the world. During the season he also won Rome and Queen's, and he reached four further finals, on the Grand Slam stages of Melbourne and Paris as well as in Madrid and Cincinnati.
Although he has yet to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title, he did reach the 2012 final by beating Tomas Berdych and Novak Djokovic before falling to Roger Federer, and he was a quarterfinalist in 2015.
Defending champion Stan Wawrinka has added a third Grand Slam crown since he defeated Marcos Baghdatis in a gripping 2016 final, winning the US Open to add that trophy to those won at the Australian and French Opens. As well as winning in Dubai and New York he triumphed in Chennai and on home soil in Geneva, and he finished as runner-up in St Petersburg. Another highlight of his 2016 season was earning his 400th career victory, and he has continued his winning ways into 2017 by already reaching the Brisbane semi-finals.
Seven-time champion Federer will also be in the hunt, and he has the possible advantage of being totally fit and hungrier for success than most after having to miss the entire second half of last season due to injury. Before he was side-lined following Wimbledon he earned a record 300th Grand Slam win, and in June he claimed his 1,072nd victory to pass Ivan Lendl for the second-most wins in the Open Era behind Jimmy Connors.
Another strong challenger for the title comes in the form of former Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych, whose record in Dubai includes two finals and two semis in the last six years. He has also succeeded where most have failed by scoring a win over Federer in Dubai, in the 2013 semi-finals.
While Murray, Wawrinka, Federer and Berdych are well known to Dubai tennis fans, a strong challenge for the title could come from those less familiar. Although those at the very top of the rankings will begin as favourites, they know they could find themselves up against very serious opposition from others equally eager to claim the title for themselves.
Gael Monfils has played in Dubai just once before, in 2008 when he lost to Berdych. But since then he has established himself as one of the most talented and entertaining players on the ATP Tour, last year winning the biggest title of his career in Washington and then reaching the semi-finals of the US Open without dropping a set before coming up against Novak Djokovic.
Even less familiar perhaps is Monfils' fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille, who was barely ranked in the top 100 a year ago but was voted by his fellow professionals as the most improved player of 2016 after firmly establishing himself in the top 20. He made his biggest impression at Wimbledon, where he beat Juan Martin del Potro on his way to the quarter-finals, and the US Open where he upset world number five Rafael Nadal en route to the quarter-finals where his run was ended by Monfils.
Britain's Dan Evans has been creating a storm in recent months, holding a match point against eventual champion Stan Wawrinka at the US Open. And he has already made his mark in 2017 by upsetting world number eight Dominic Thiem on his way to the Sydney final, and this week overcoming seventh seed Marin Cilic to reach the third round of the Australian Open.
Another strong upset contender is Marcos Baghdatis, who revels in the electric atmosphere that he himself generates inside the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium. Last year he played a full part in a gripping final, and having previously stretched Novak Djokovic to 6-4 in the third in another enthralling centre court battle in 2010, no opponent will take him lightly.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.