Grand Slam winners, rising stars to face off at Dubai Tennis Championships

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. With all five qualifiers sitting on Djokovic’s half of the draw, third seed Daniil Medvedev, who could meet the Serb in the semifinals, will also face a qualifier in the 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 lineup 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