A few years back, as the then-three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic waded through another star-studded draw at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the Serbian was asked to rate the tournament.
“You have seven or eight of the top 10 players taking part in this event,” the world No 1 said. “That says enough.
“They are doing a great job in attracting the world’s best players. The people here are very kind, especially the people who are in charge of organisation here, and I am always welcomed like at home.”
That hospitality has kept Djokovic coming back to Dubai along with the world’s other top players. Roger Federer has been a regular and so has Andy Murray, and these three of the Big Four will be here this year when the men’s tournament begins in two weeks.
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Rafael Nadal, the other member of the elite quartet, used to be a regular, but since the last of his knee surgeries he has preferred the clay courts of South America.
“For the 500 tournaments, it’s always the toughest during the year,” said Murray, who is making another bid to win a tournament that since 2003 has been dominated by the other members of the top tier, with Federer winning it six times, Djokovic four times and Nadal once.
The only outsider to take home the title these past 12 years was Andy Roddick in 2008, when he beat Nadal in the quarter-finals and Djokovic in the semi-finals. Murray had knocked out Federer in the first round.
Federer and Murray have faced each other 23 times since 2005, but that is the only time the two have met in the opening round of a tournament.
A year ago, tournament director Salah Tahlak said no more appearance money is given to players. But Dubai has other advantages, including the strength of competition and its place on the calendar – the last outdoor tournament in Eurasia ahead of the two Masters 1000 events in the United States.
Djokovic has advocated for Dubai’s promotion to a Masters 1000 event, the highest classification aside from a grand slam or world final. It is the players’ favourite 500 event and has won the ATP World Tour 500 Tournament of the Year award every year since 2003, save when Acapulco took that honour in 2007.
“It definitely deserves to have a 1000 event, in my opinion,” Djokovic said. “I think that many top players would agree with that fact because it’s such a strong event, and it also has the potential.
“I don’t know a single player who has played here and has a negative feeling about the tournament. On the contrary, everybody wishes that this tournament is played for a bit longer time, like we have Indian Wells and Miami.
“The people here definitely love tennis. There’s a lot of attendance, a lot of people coming to watch the event.”
The stadium is usually packed in both weeks, with the WTA event also attracting a strong field every year.
Nine women have won the Dubai title since 2001, and six of them have held the No 1 ranking at some time during their careers.
Two others have reached as high as No 2 while the lowest-ranked Dubai champion, Elena Dementieva, was once a world No 3 and reached two grand slam finals.
Four of those former champions – Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova – will be back here next week, hoping to add another big DDF trophy to their cabinet.
Follow all the build-up to the Dubai Championship on Twitter @NatSportUAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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New schools in Dubai
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
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ELIO
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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How do Sim card scams work?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani