Six weeks after completing one of the greatest seasons in tennis history, Novak Djokovic begins his 2016 campaign and warm-up for his Australian Open defence in Qatar.
The Serbian, also current holder of Wimbledon and the US Open, heads a strong field at the Qatar Open which starts in Doha on Monday, one that also includes Rafael Nadal, Tomas Berdych and defending champion David Ferrer.
All eyes though, at least at the start, will be on Djokovic to see if he can maintain the exceptional heights he achieved last year and to gauge his form ahead of the first grand slam of the year that begins at Melbourne on January 18.
Djokovic, 25, dominated men’s tennis last year, all but sweeping away the competition to take three majors, make 15 consecutive tour finals and win more than US$21 million (Dh77.1m) in prize money.
He also became the third man to reach all four major finals in a year, losing out only in the French Open to Stan Wawrinka.
Given his achievements last season, Djokovic must be looking to become the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four grand slams in a single season.
ABU DHABI SUCCESS: Rafael Nadal wins third Mubadala title
There is also the extra prize of a “fifth major” this season, with an Olympics gold medal up for grabs at Rio in August.
“Here we come again to a new season,” Djokovic said in an upbeat statement before ahead of arriving at Doha.
“I’m so excited to come back and perform at my best in this season opening tournament, stay tuned.”
Last year though, Doha represented one of his rare failures. The big serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic beat him in three seats in the quarter-finals.
The other big story in Doha is Rafael Nadal, who will arrive there today fresh from winning the Mubadala World Tennis Championship after beating Milos Raonic 7-6, 6-3 tonight in Abu Dhabi.
Now the world No 5, is the No 2 seed in Doha and could barely do worse than he did 12 months ago when he crashed out in the first round, losing to Germany’s Michael Berrer in three sets.
This year’s defending champion is Nadal’s compatriot Ferrer, so he may feel himself a little unlucky to be seeded fourth behind the Czech Berdych, who he beat in straight sets in January 2015, one of five tournaments he won last year.
The tournament has been held since 1993 when a 25-year-old Boris Becker triumphed beating Goran Ivanisevic in the final in three sets.