Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2019: When to watch Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

Three days of top action underway in Abu Dhabi: all you need to know about how to get tickets, the venue, the match schedule and the tennis village

Novak Djokovic of Serbia kisses the trophy after winning the final match against South African Kevin Anderson at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in 2018. EPA

Spain's Rafael Nadal poses with the trophy after defeating Belgium's David Goffin in the final match of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2016. AFP

Hyeon Chung will be appearing at MWTC 2019. As an unseeded player, the 23-year-old became the first South Korean to reach a Grand Slam semifinal at the 2018 Australian Open. Getty

Russia's Andrey Rublev, 22, is another of the next generation appearing at Mubadala. EPA

Karen Khachanov, another Russian, has won four ATP singles titles as he heads for the MWTC. Getty

Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas has already made the breakthrough, and at 21 is the youngest player ranked in the world top ten. He won the ATP Finals in London last month. PA

Maria Sharapova, the former world No 1, will be playing Ajla Tomljanovic. AFP

Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia will be playing Maria Sharapova. AFP

What is the Mubadala World Tennis Championship?

The Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) is an annual exhibition tennis tournament where six ATP Tour players compete for a winner-takes-all $250,000 (Dh920,000) prize. Taking place in December each year, MWTC is a three-day pre-season event which gives top tennis players the chance to fine-tune their games and get in some match practice before the official season starts in January.

Since 2017, there has also been a one-off women’s match involving some of the biggest stars of the WTA Tour.

When is MWTC 2019?

The 2019 tournament takes place December 19-21.

Where is it played?

The tournament is held at the International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi. All of the matches are played on Centre Court, although there are plenty of activities taking place in the surrounding Tennis Village throughout the event.

What is the format for MWTC?

As it is a six-player event, the top-two seeds are handed byes to the semi-finals where they await the winners of the opening day’s quarter-finals. On the second day, the semi-finals and fifth-place playoff are then played, with the third day reserved for the third-place playoff and the final.

Rafael Nadal is bidding to win the Mubadala World Tennis Championship for a record fifth time. Courtesy Mubadala World Tennis Championship

Players play best-of-three sets with tiebreaks at 6-6. However, the third- and fifth-place playoff matches are decided by a champions tie-break (first to 10 points or a gap of two points) if the players are level at one-set each.

Who is playing in the 2019 tournament?

In typical MWTC form, this year’s tournament boasts some of the best tennis players on the planet. In the men’s event, the world’s top two players, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, top the billing and are joined by four of the best players of the ‘Next Generation’: ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, world No 17 Karen Khachanov, world No 23 Andrey Rublev, and former Australian Open semi-finalist Chung Hyeon.

The women’s event will be contested by former world No 1 and five-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova and Australian No 2 Ajla Tomljanovic.

What is the schedule for MWTC 2019?

Day One was on Thursday, December 19. Tsitsipas beat Rublev 6-3, 6-4 in the first quarter-final. That was floowed by Khachanov beating Chung 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in the second quarter-final. The day concluded with the women’s match, Sharapova beating Tomljanovic 6-4, 7-5.

Day Two on Friday, December 20 will start with the fifth-place playoff at 3pm, Rublev v Chung, before the first semi-final (not before 5pm) sees Djokovic face Tsitsipas. That is followed by the second semi-final (not before 7pm) where Nadal plays Khachanov.

Day Three on Saturday, December 21 will start at 5pm with the third-place playoff. The tournament will then end after the men’s final, which will begin on or after 7pm.

The Tennis Village opens at 12pm every day and is free to enter.

Are tickets still available for MWTC 2019?

Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.ae or at Virgin Megatores across the UAE. Ticket prices vary, from regular tickets to hospitality packages, and can be purchased for a single day or more.