The annual preseason exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi will take place this week from Thursday through Saturday. This year’s field at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship includes Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Karen Khachanov, Andrey Rublev, and Hyeon Chung. There will also be a women’s exhibition match between Maria Sharapova and Ajla Tomljanovic.
As aways, the top two seeds–Nadal and Djokovic this season–receive byes to the semifinals of the six-man event. Nadal will kick off his campaign against either Khachanov or Chung, while Djokovic awaits the Tsitsipas-Rublev winner.
Since the inaugural MWTC in 2008, only four different players have lifted the trophy. Nadal and Djokovic are tied with four titles, Andy Murray has won it twice, and Kevin Anderson is the lone one-time champion. Anderson triumphed in 2017 (d. Roberto Bautista Agut) and finished runner-up last year (l. to Djokovic).
“I have always had a great time and enjoyed every minute at the Mubadala event,” Nadal assured. “It is a great way to start the season and getting ready this year for the ATP Cup. In previous years it was my entrance to the new season, continuing to other events. I always felt this tournament was getting better every year; I am sure this year will be no exception to that.”
Alternates Khachanov and Rublev do not have quite as much experience in Abu Dhabi, but they aren’t first-timers either. Rublev made his debut two years ago, while Khachanov participated in the 2018 event. The two Russians were not on the initial 2019 entry list, but they ended up replacing Daniil Medvedev and Gael Monfils. Medvedev and Monfils played last week at the Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia, after which the Russian–who won the title–cited fatigue and Monfils was hit by another injury.
“I was fortunate enough to experience this championship a couple of years ago,” Rublev said. “With a very strong lineup, it’s an opportunity to start the season with very competitive matches.”
“I can’t wait to return to the Mubadala World Tennis Championship and to Abu Dhabi after a great experience last year,” Khachanov commented. “The weather is fantastic and the fans really know their tennis. The set-up is superb, the crowd can really get involved, and it also offers the perfect opportunity to get the new season off and running with some hard matches.”
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who ya got?
Medvedev withdrew from the Abu Dhabi tournament due to a hip/leg problem.
https://tennistonic.com/tennis-news/136822/injured-daniil-medvedev-withdraws-from-the-mubadala-world-tennis-championship/
https://bestsport.news/medvedev-has-withdrawn-from-the-tournament-in-abu-dhabi/
Thank goodness we have tennis on tv again!!
Where is it being covered? It usually is hard to find in the UK.
It’s great to see Rafa playing again. I did not realize Abu Dhabi was here already. He’s looking good. Just broke Tsitsipas to serve for the set.
I spoke too soon. Rafa was broken serving for the set. Now he is losing the tiebreak.
Not looking good, serving like crap. He faced eight BPs and was broken when serving for the first set, that’s crappy tennis by his standard. His first serve was not something to talk about, don’t understand how come it can vary so much from match to match.
Just serve a bit better and he could’ve won the first set 6-4, now he will need a TB to win, or worse may lose it 5-7 instead!
If Rafa loses the first set, he has himself to blame. His serve is really terrible, and each service game is a torture for him. Tsitsipas continues with his good play from his match yesterday.
Tsitsipas is helped with his big serve whilst Rafa is pulled down by his own lousy serve! Rafa just throws away the first set by serving so poorly while serving for the set!
Rafa serving like this will get into troubles more often than not, how many BPs can he save??
Oh please it’s not the end of the freaking world!
So what you expect me to say? Rafa is serving like crap his first serve, no wonder he struggled against Medvedev at the WTF and had to fight hard to beat Tsitsipas there. These are really the TOP players that he most likely will have to meet at the slams.
I’m pissed because he could serve better (as per DC), but when faced with a big server, he started feeling pressure with his own service games and then all those crappy serves appeared, that’s something I’m really frustrated about his game!
Go Rafa! Takes the second set!
I really feel that Rafa should learn how to block back serves the way Fed does, at least that gives him more option than just standing so far back to return serves and having to run so much and covers so much ground, and more often than not his returns tend to be short allowing the server to come in to control the point.
Well finally, Rafa’s deft touches at the net won him the last point in set two and they’re now one set all (could’ve won by now). Rafa without a great serve has to work so hard to win points and holds serves.
Come on Tsitsipas, don’t need to vent your anger on your racket. It’s an exho but Tsitsipas obviously wants to get a win over Rafa.
Rafa gave the break back again, but managed to get the win. Not at his best, but did it in the end.
A great match and Tsitsipas is really something! It takes Rafa’s experience and guile and everything to beat this Tsitsipas; Rafa could’ve served better to win it in two hours, but that’s the way he is esp on non clay surface.
It’s good for Rafa to win this match, at least that would not give Tsitsipas too much confidence going into the new season; had Tsitsipas won this match, he would be full of confidence having beaten the no.1 and no.2 guys and he would be even harder to beat going forward.
Even though it’s an exho, these two guys played to win and it’s as if it’s a normal atp match and not an exho. Congrats to both guys for playing tennis at this level.
Rafa needs to get back his good to great first serve, and improves his BHDTL shot.
Aside: Tennis TV right now have selected matches of classic rivalries (Slams excluded) back to Sampras-Agassi. Many gems which which Id forgotten about .
Im watching Shanghai 2006 Fed v Rafa.
YAY Vamos Rafa xx
It was “just” an exho – but Rafa and Tsitsipas both played to win! Good for Rafa to have pulled it off. But Tsitsipas is getting closer and closer. I would be very surprised if he will experience a serious let-down in the upcoming season like the other recent WTF winners.
That was the toughest “exho” I’ve ever watched! Abu Dhabi usually does produce pretty good tennis but that match was unreal. I don’t think Tsitsi will have a major let-down but I wouldn’t be surprised if he suffers some dips, as he did after his RG disappointment v Stan this year.
Agreed! The spectators got a lot of competitive tennis for their tickets☺
Tsitsipas will most likely have ups and downs in the upcoming season, because that’s normal. But I don’t think he will go down the way of Dimi, or to a lesser degree, Zverev. Tsitsipas has matured a lot this year in the mental department. It might help that he hasn’t been proclaimed to be the future No.1 prematurely for several years, as it happened with Zverev. Tsitsipas actually had to earn his accolades, which is much healthier.
I watched the replay of that match later on last night on the tennis channel. Rafa was simply the smarter, more savvy and experienced player. Tsitsipas played very well but seemed to lose it in that third set TB. Rafa had the nerves of steel.
The two big things with Rafa was when he was broken after breaking Tsitsipas in the first and third sets. The break back ended up costing him the first set. But as always with Rafa, he just stayed in the fight and managed to come back to get the win. He just has no quit in him, even if it’s an exho.
Both guys played to win and that gave the crowd a great match. I always as the Rafa to win, but since it was an exho I would not have been destroyed if he lost. Tsitsipas really wanted to get a win against Rafa even with no rankings points at stake or being in an actual tournament. He found out again just how to tough it is to beat Rafa.
Tsitsipas is maturing and getting better. But Rafa put his stamp on this match and showed how it’s done. Nice way to end the year!
😘
how physical was it? concerned about the energy they put in.
Ricky,
You make a good point. That’s why I told myself that it wasn’t that big a deal if Rafa lost. No rankings points to be earned, nothing on the record for the win. Rafa made it harder on himself by giving back the break in the first set. He should have won that first set.
It was a three hour match. Rafa mentioned it in the awards ceremony. I do think it was physical and that is a concern. There is the new tennis year to look forward to and Rafa’s biggest issue is injuries.
They both looked fine at the end. Nothing like that 3 setter Rafa v Djoker in Madrid 2009! Tsitsi also had a tough 3 setter v Djokovic in Abu Dhabi but Rafa’s semi was much quicker.
I always want Rafa to win! *
Fortunately Rafa has time to rest before the new year starts, to celebrate Christmas too.