Djokovic to face Jaziri in opening round of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Amir Naqvi, Sports Editor

Returning to the court for the first time since lifting a record-extending eighth Australian Open title last month, top seed Novak Djokovic will face former semi-finalist Malek Jaziri in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Chasing his first Dubai trophy since 2013, the 17-time Grand Slam champion could face Philipp Kohlschreiber or Mohamed Safwat in the second round. Djokovic shares the top quarter of the draw with seventh seed Karen Khachanov.

He will be looking to reclaim the Dubai title after winning four titles in five years from 2009-11 and 2013.

Along with Jaziri, wild cards were awarded to Safwat from Egypt and India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran.

Defending champion Roger Federer has undergone surgery to resolve a longstanding knee problem and will be out of action until after the French Open.

Earlier this month, Safwat became just the second Egyptian to win a Challenger title and the first since 1996, in Launceston, Australia. It was an incredibly emotional moment for the 29-year-old, who had competed in an incredible 133 tournaments over 10 years without success, and it came just weeks after he had qualified for a Grand Slam for the first time at the Australian Open, where he didn’t drop a set in reaching the main draw. He will face veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber in the 1st round, with the winner to play Djokovic or Jaziri.

Gunneswaran also qualified for last month’s Australian Open, and last season he had considerable success on the ATP Challenger circuit, reaching a final in China as well as three semi-finals.

He will play a qualifier in the first round and could face seventh seed Khachanov in the second. Khachanov’s first opponent will be Mikhail Kukushkin.

Second seed and 2019 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas will play Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round and could face 2018 champion and fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals.

Bautista Agut opens against Jan-Lennard Struff. Third seed Gael Monfils, who after winning back-to-back titles in Rotterdam and Montpellier spent last week supporting Elina Svitolina in the WTA event here, plays Marton Fucsovics and is in a quarter that could see him meet either of two fellow Frenchmen, Richard Gasquet or eighth seed Benoit Paire. Paire, though, has a challenging first round against former Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic.

Fourth seed Fabio Fognini will make his tournament debut against Dan Evans, who is at a career-high 31 after reaching three quarter-finals this year, and sixth seed Andrey Rublev opens his bid for the title against a qualifier.

“The draw has produced many interesting possibilities and the week ahead is certain to provide us with wonderful entertainment, both from players who are ranked in the world’s top 10 and others who have enjoyed recent success and have deservedly received wild cards into the main draw,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free. “We wish everyone well and eagerly look forward to seeing who will be crowned as our 2020 champion.”

Tournament Director Salah Tahlak added, “Novak Djokovic will be wary of his first round opponent, Malek Jaziri, who has defeated a number of top opponents here before. Stefanos Tsitsipas also faces a potentially difficult tie against our 2018 champion Roberto Bautista Agut, and such is the strength of the players competing that no-one will take victory for granted. This year’s WTA week demonstrated that even the very top names have no guarantee of success, and it will be fascinating to see how the coming week unfolds.”

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, takes place between Feb.24 to Feb.29.