DUBAI: Top seed Novak Djokovic heads an impressive list of Grand Slam winners who will face off against some of the game’s rising stars at the 31st Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after Saturday’s draw threw up some intriguing clashes.
Besides the world No. 1 and recent Australian Open winner, the ATP 500 field includes four other players from the world top 10 who between them have collected 26 major titles.
Djokovic will start his quest for a sixth Dubai title against a qualifier or lucky loser, while defending champion and second seed Andrey Rublev will face Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic, ranked 67th in the world, in the round of 32. “I feel good to be back in Dubai, it’s a great feeling and I would love to go as far as possible,” Rublev said. “Last time I played Filip he destroyed me quite easily, I couldn’t do anything, so we will see.
It will be a nice game and I hope I play better than last time.” Fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland will face 2017 Dubai winner Andy Murray in the opening round, with Djokovic a potential quarterfinal opponent.