Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal headline Qatar ExxonMobil Open

Sport360 staff 15:17 03/12/2014
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  • Defending champion: Rafael Nadal is hoping to retain the Qatar ExxonMobil Open title.

    The Qatar ExxonMobil Open tournament heralds the return of the defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain and for the first time the appearance of seven-time Grand Slam winner and current world No1 Novak Djokovic.

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    Serbian, Djokovic has had a stellar year on the ATP Tour in 2014 winning seven titles including Wimbledon where he defeated Roger Federer in five sets in the final. 

    Nadal will be back in Doha for the seventh time, having won the event last year, making the final in 2010, the semifinals; 2012-13 and the quarter-finals in 2009 and 2005.

    The Qatar ExxonMobil Open has four players ranked in the top 10 with the addition of regular visitors Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) ranked No.7 and David Ferrer of Spain who is ranked tenth.

    Berdych won his second ATP World Tour doubles title by partnering Jan Hajek to success in the final at Doha in 2014.

    Ferrer became the first player to win three straight Buenos Aires titles, additionally he won the title at Vienna and made the finals at the Cincinnati Masters and Hamburg

    Other players of note in the entry list include Latvian Ernests Gulbis who was a semifinalist at the French Open this year as well as Richard Gasquet, a member of the French Davis Cup team who played in the recent final and a 2013 winner of the ExxonMobil Open.

    The cut off for the tournament direct entrants is Spaniard Nicolas Almagro ranked 71, a former top ten ranked player and three-time Roland Garros quarter-finalist.

    Qatar ExxonMobil Open tournament director, Karim Alami believes it is one of the best tournaments ever with plenty of talent on display.

    “We have four players in the top 10. It’s a great draw for the first week of the year; it’s a very important week in the calendar to go to Australia.

    “It’s great to have Novak Djokovic the world No.1 here for the first time. I’m sure he’ll bring out lots of Serbian fans.

    "To also have Rafael Nadal our defending champion returning is fantastic especially as we are the first tournament on his return from injury.

    “There is so much depth throughout the player list, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Ernests Gulbis, Fernando Verdasco a former top eight player and former champion Richard Gasquet, it is going to be a great tournament,”

    Event sponsor ExxonMobil are pleased with the strength of the tournament and the talent they bring to Qatar from all over the world.

    “Thanks to the efforts of the Qatar Tennis Federation, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open continues to attract big names in the world of tennis,” said Alistair Routledge, Vice President and Joint Venture Interest Manager for ExxonMobil Qatar Inc. 

    “We are thrilled to have such a star-studded list of players this year, and look forward to seeing them perform on the court next month.”

    The tournament is held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex with tickets available from December 4 onwards at City Center, Landmark, Lagoona, Villaggio, on-site at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex and from www.qatartennis.org

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