Ahmed Rizvi details who will in action in Abu Dhabi starting on December 31 for the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.
Rafael Nadal
Country: Spain
Age: 29
Turned Pro: 2001
Ranking: No 5
Career win-loss: 767-160
2015 win-loss: 61-20 (3 titles)
Career titles: 67 (14 grand slams)
Career prize money: $75,888,125
Mubadala Timeline: The Spaniard has appeared in all but one (2012) of the seven MWTC, winning twice on the trot after losing the 2009 final to Andy Murray.
Factoid: Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only two male players in history who have won at least two grand slam titles on three different surfaces— hard court, grass and clay.
Signature: One of the most powerful and devastating forehands the game has ever known.
Stan Wawrinka
Country: Switzerland
Age: 30
Turned Pro: 2002
Ranking: No 4
Career win-loss: 392-233
2015 win-loss: 55-18 (4 titles)
Career titles: 11 (2 grand slams)
Career prize money: $20,947,676
Mubadala Timeline: Fourth appearance in Abu Dhabi; lost to Rafael Nadal in the third-place play-off last year.
Factoid: Wawrinka is one of only three players, alongside Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to have grand slam wins against each of the Big Four.
Signature: A laser of a backhand that has developed recently into one of the most vicious shots in tennis.
David Ferrer
Country: Spain
Age: 33
Turned Pro: 2000
Ranking: No 7
Career win-loss: 657-310
2015 win-loss: 55-16 (5 titles)
Career titles: 26
Career prize money: $28,355,864
Mubadala Timeline: In four previous appearances at the MWTC, Ferrer has lost to none but the eventual champion in Abu Dhabi – twice in the finals and two times in the semis. The Spanish veteran will be hoping to be fifth-time lucky.
Factoid: Once, during his teen years, Ferrer got fed up with tennis and went to work at a construction site, but a week later, he was back at his coach Javier Piles’s tennis club.
Signature: His all-action energy, covering the full length of the court like few can in his sport.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Country: France
Age: 30
Turned Pro: 2004
Ranking: No 10
Career win-loss: 351-163
2015 win-loss: 32-16 (1 title)
Career titles: 12
Career prize money: $16,686,474
Mubadala Timeline: The Frenchman has only one win from five matches in his previous three appearances here and he will be keen to improve on those stats.
Factoid: At the 2008 Australian Open, an unseeded Tsonga reached the final, beating Andy Murray in the opening round and Rafael Nadal in the semis before becoming the first player to win a set against Novak Djokovic that fortnight.
Signature: Big-hitting ground strokes, including forehand that is especially difficult for opponents to deal with.
Kevin Anderson
Country: South Africa
Age: 29
Turned Pro: 2007
Ranking: No 12
Career win-loss: 222-159
2015 win-loss: 46-24 (1 title)
Career titles: 3
Career prize money: $6,736,934
Mubadala Timeline: Debut appearance
Factoid: Earlier this year in October, Anderson became the first South African since Wayne Ferreira 18 years ago to reach the top 10 in the ATP singles ranking, but he could stay at No 10 only for a week.
Signature: Big and tall and serves like it. Aces will be aplenty.
Milos Raonic
Country: Canada
Age: 24
Turned Pro: 2008
Ranking: No 14
Career win-loss: 207-103
2015 win-loss: 33-16 (1)
Career titles: 7
Career prize money: $8,806,174
Mubadala Timeline: Debut aappearance
Factoid: Ranked No 152 in mid-January, 2011, Raonic had climbed to No 37 in the rankings four weeks later, thanks to his sensational run at the Australian Open. Coming through the qualifiers, he reached the fourth round before losing to Ferrer. His career has been on the up since.
Signature: A wicked serve, with some of the best speed and movement on show in the sport.
