Andrey Rublev, the world No 5, has been confirmed as the fifth male player competing at next month's Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, organisers announced on Tuesday.
Rublev, 24, adds his name to an already stacked lineup for the six-player tournament featuring 20-time Grand Slam champion - and five-time MWTC winner - Rafael Nadal, former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, world No 8 Casper Ruud, and 19th-ranked Denis Shapovalov. Meanwhile, the one-off women's match will be contested by US Open champion Emma Raducanu and Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic.
It will be Rublev's third appearance at MWTC having made his debut in 2017 before returning in 2019. On both occasions, the Russian placed fifth.
“It’s really exciting to be heading back to Abu Dhabi and playing in front of the fans there," Rublev said. "They really know their tennis and make a real difference. And, with the event at full capacity it’s going to be a great way to begin a busy 2022 season.”
Rublev will arrive in the capital following another successful season on the ATP Tour. In addition to the title he won in Rotterdam, Rublev reached a further three finals - two of them Masters 1000 events, in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati. He still has the chance to add to his eight career titles when he competes in the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy next week.
"We’ve raised the bar every year since the inception of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship and always strive to bring the best players in the world to Abu Dhabi," said John Lickrish, CEO, Flash Entertainment, the tournament owners.
"Andrey’s confirmation means we now have five truly world-class players lined up for the exciting return of the Championship. Andrey has a great connection with the championship and has a strong following in the UAE so his return, to a full stadium, will undoubtedly create a lot of enthusiasm among tennis fans in the UAE and beyond.”
After last year's championship was called off due to logistical complications of staging the tournament during the Covid-19 pandemic, it returns this year in front of a capacity crowd at Zayed Sports City's International Tennis Centre and will be held December 16-18.
In line with the latest government guidelines, MWTC will welcome fans with green status on the Al Hosn app and a negative PCR test result with 96-hour validity across the three days of the tournament. MWTC is also accessible to international visitors after Abu Dhabi’s recent lifting of quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers.
Tickets start from Dh100 for adults and Dh50 for children, and are available from ticketmaster.ae and Virgin Megastores across the UAE. In line with current protocols, measures will be in place within the stadium and throughout the Tennis Village to ensure the health and safety of fans, players and officials.
More details are available on www.mubadalawtc.com
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Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
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Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
RACE CARD
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
