Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and tennis stars descend on Abu Dhabi – in pictures

• 

• 

  Rafael Nadal smiles during a press conference at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi on Thursday ahead of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Marwan Naamani / AFP

• 

  Novak Djokovic signs autographs at Zayed Sports City on Thursday for the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. Ravindranath K / The National

• 

  Rafael Nadal, left, and Stan Wawrinka arrive on Thursday at the Beach Rotana in Abu Dhabi for an appearance ahead of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Ali Haider / EPA

• 

  Andy Murray practices on Thursday at the Zayed Sports City tennis centre ahead of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. Ali Haider / EPA

• 

  Stan Wawrinka plays a shot during his opening match on Thursday night at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. Wawrinka defeated Nicolas Almagro. Kamran Jebreili / AP

• 

  Nicolas Almagro returns a shot during his loss to Stan Wawrinka in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi on Thursday night. Martin Dokoupil / Reuters

• 

  Rafael Nadal poses with fans at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi on Thursday ahead of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Kamran Jebreili / AP

• 

  Novak Djokovic responds to a question during his press conference on Thursday ahead of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. Ali Haider / EPA

• 

  Andy Murray prepares to play a shot against Feliciano Lopez in his win on Thursday night at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. Francois Nel / Getty Images

• 

  Feliciano Lopez plays a shot at the net during his loss to Andy Murray on Thursday night at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. Ali Haider / EPA

• 

  From left to right, Feliciano Lopez, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Nicolas Almagro pose during a photo shoot in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. AFP Photo / Mubadala World Tennis Championship

Images from Thursday afternoon, as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray, Feliciano Lopez and Nicolas Almagro appeared around Abu Dhabi ahead of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship at Zayed Sports City. On Thursday night Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray opened up the tournament with wins over Nicolas Almagro and Feliciano Lopez, respectively. On Friday night Murray faces Nadal and Wawrinka plays Djokovic in the semi-finals.

Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE