Last year’s runner-up Tomas Berdych will kick things off today on centre court against qualifier Marius Copil while Tunisian wildcard Malek Jaziri is hoping he can overcome jetlag to keep up his recent run of good results against Igor Sijsling on Court 2.
Jaziri recently hired a new coach, Dejan Petrovic of Serbia, and the partnership paid dividends immediately with the Tunisian making the final in the Dallas Challenger earlier this month, followed by a semi-final showing in Morelos, Mexico, last Friday.
Sijsling is coming off a semifinal appearance in Rotterdam and is up to No53 in the world rankings.
“It’s a good match and a good test for me after a few good results from my end,” Jaziri told Sport360°. “I hope physically I’ll be good after long flights.”
Petrovic will not be with him this week and the 137th-ranked Jaziri is hoping their partnership continues to bring him good results for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, No2 seed Juan Martin del Potro is predicting a tough opener against Somdev Devvarman, who lost to the Argentine last year in Dubai in the second round. Devvarman picked up a Challenger title in New Delhi on Sunday and is looking to keep the victories coming, while del Potro will be testing his left wrist, which he injured last month.
Defending champion Djokovic faces Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, who lost to the Serb at the Australian Open recently while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – the latest to arrive to Dubai having played the final in Marseille on Sunday – will face Victor Hanescu.
CORRECTION: A former version of this article incorrectly stated that Jaziri's coach Dejan Petrovic is a former personal mentor for Novak Djokovic and an ex-Davis Cup captain for Serbia. This is a different Dejan Petrovic. Djokovic's former coach is now the current coach of Ana Ivanovic (starting July 2014), while Jaziri is working with a different coach carrying the same name.
