The 10th staging of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) promises to be its most star-studded with the announcement that 12-time grand slam winner Novak Djokovic and three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka have been added to the line up.
World No 7 Djokovic and ninth-ranked Wawrinka complete the line up for the December 28-30 tournament alongside world No 1 Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem (No 6), Pablo Carreno Busta (No 11) and Milos Raonic (No 12)
Djokovic, a three-time Mubadala champion, sees the 2017 tournament as the ideal event to return to the game after missing the second half of this season with an elbow injury.
"I am extremely excited to return to Abu Dhabi for the fifth time and take part in the 10th edition of the championship," said the Serb, 30, who has not played since retiring from his Wimbledon quarter-final match against Tomas Berdych in July.
"It is a huge honour to take part in such a special tournament. The line-up is very strong as always and it will be the perfect way to make my comeback and begin the season. Abu Dhabi is an amazing place and this is going to be a great event for all of the fans.”
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Read more:
- Graham Caygill: Rafael Nadal can cement himself at No 1 with strong end to 2017
- Mubadala World Tennis Championship: Nadal to be joined by fellow Spaniard Carreno Busta
- Graham Caygill: Nadal's return to Abu Dhabi fitting way to mark return to top
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Wawrinka will also be appearing at the International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City for a fifth time. Like Djokovic, Wawrinka has also been sidelined by injury following his defeat to Nadal at the French Open final in June.
The 32-year-old Swiss says he considers the MWTC the perfect warm-up event to begin each new season. “It is always a pleasure to kick the season off at the beautiful event in Abu Dhabi," he said. "The fans are amazing there and the draw is as strong as always with a lot of great players.
"My recovery is going well and I can’t wait to be back on court. I’m working hard together with my team and looking forward to being back.”
Tickets to the Championship are on sale via www.ticketmaster.ae and all Virgin Megastores across the UAE. For more information, visit: www.mubadalawtc.com.
