There is plenty on offer this week for UAE sports fans, whether it is seeing Roger Federer close up at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium for the UAE Royals or watching Barcelona in action at the Club World Cup on TV. Here is The National's guide to the best live action.
International Premier Tennis League, Monday to Wednesday
Swiss superstar Roger Federer will make the short drive from his home in Dubai down to the Duty Free Tennis Stadium to lead UAE Royals as the IPTL returns to Dubai for a second year. The the biggest draw this year will be on Tuesday when the Royals face Singapore Slammers, led by Andy Murray. The franchise-based competition sees five teams compete over five legs, with matches already complete in Japan, Manila and India. Each tie consists of five single-set matches: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and past champion singles with each game won worth one point. Federer is joined by Ana Ivanovic, Thomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, Daniel Nestor, Kristina Mladenovic and Goran Ivanisevic on the Royals.
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English Premier League, Leicester City v Chelsea, Monday, midnight, BeIN Sports
This Premier League clash sees the top-of-the-table side up against relegation strugglers, except very few would have predicted Leicester as the league leaders and Chelsea, the defending English champions, as the side hovering just two points above the relegation zone. High-flying Leicester have the league’s top scorer, Jamie Vardy, and another win for Claudio Ranieri’s men at the King Power Stadium could end Jose Mourinho’s time in charge at Chelsea.
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Barcelona enter the Club World Cup, Thursday, 2.30pm, BeIN sports
Luis Enrique's all-conquering Barcelona team were held to a shock 2-2 draw at home to Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday evening after Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic goals had looked likely to preserve their 100 per cent winning start at Camp Nou in La Liga this season. But Barca can put that minor blip behind them this week when they look to add another trophy to their cabinet as they compete in the tournament that sees the champions of every continent face off in Japan. Their semi-final, against Chinese and Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande, on Thursday kicks off at 2.30pm in the UAE. Time to schedule an important "meeting" with the television.
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Paulinho’s late winner for Guangzhou sets up Club World Cup semi-final showdown with Barcelona
New Zealand v Sri Lanka, second Test, Friday, 1am, OSN Sports
A "miracle ball" from the recalled Neil Wagner set New Zealand up for a 122-run win in the first Test on Monday as Sri Lanka folded with the loss of seven wickets on the final day. The second five-dayer, to be played in Hamilton, Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum will look to claim the outright record of Test sixes; he currently shares the record of 100 with Australia's Adam Gilchrist. Sri Lanka will look to level the two-match Test series and show they are moving on after the international retirement of the legendary Kumar Sangakkara, who UAE fans will be itching to see in both the Pakistan Super League and Masters Champions League – both in the UAE – next year.
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Get your tickets! Mubadala World Tennis Championship, December 31 to January 2
What better way to work off that Christmas turkey than watching six of the world's top 15 men's tennis players in action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship at the International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City? Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka are on course to meet in the MWTC final after the pair were kept apart in the draw at Yas Mall last month. Taking place from December 31 to January 2, MWTC will see six of the world's best tennis players contending for the title in Abu Dhabi. Spain's world No 7 David Ferrer and Frenchman Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga, the world No 10, is the opening match of the tournament. Day 1 will also host a battle of the big-servers as South African world No 12 Kevin Anderson faces Canada's world No 14 Milos Raonic. Therefore, Wawrinka, the two-time grand slam champion, and former world No 1 Nadal both received byes into the second day of MWTC. The winner of the Ferrer-Tsonga contest will take on Nadal for a place in the final, with Wawrinka awaiting the outcome of the Anderson-Raonic match.
