Stefanos Tsitsipas said the Diriyah Tennis Cup will provide ideal preparation for the start of the new season while offering a great opportunity to spread the sport further in Saudi Arabia.
The Diriyah Tennis Cup returns for its second edition from December 8-10 as 12 leading male players compete at the tournament hosted at the Unesco World Heritage Site on the outskirts of Riyadh.
Tsitsipas, the Greek world No 4, will be joined by former world No 1 Daniil Medvedev, world No 8 Andrey Rublev, world No 10 Taylor Fritz, world No 12 Alexander Zverev, world No 14 Cameron Norrie, Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, and three-time Grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka.
Given the strength of the confirmed field so far, the Diriyah Tennis Cup will give the players some high-level and competitive matches as they continue to prepare for January's Australian Open.
“This is going to be very good preparation for me," Tsitsipas, 24, said. "Most players choose to have an off period from tennis but for me, it’s very important to get matches in before I travel to Australia.
“So having good competitors to compete against (top players), this is the best preparation that I can have before starting the 2023 season.”
Saudi Arabia has been increasing its involvement in international sports in recent years; hosting a Formula One Grand Prix, financing the new LIV Golf series, and putting on world title boxing fights among many other events.
The Diriyah Tennis Cup is Saudi's first significant foray into elite tennis, and Tsitsipas believes the sport's continued exposure in the kingdom will help grow the game.
“I know that the people in Saudi Arabia may not have the opportunity to see tennis players like us very often. So, for sure, I’m going to give it my best. I’m going to have a good time," he said.
On making his first visit to Saudi, Tsitsipas - a keen traveller who runs his own travel vlog on YouTube - added: “I’m happy they’re introducing a big event like this, and in the heart of Saudi Arabia to give opportunities to citizens from all over the world to explore this beautiful country, through its sports, through its very rich heritage and culture, and through other activities that are available within the country.”
Following his participation in the Diriyah Tennis Cup, Tsitsipas will make the short trip to Abu Dhabi where he competes in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship from December 16-18.
The Greek will be joined at both events by Rublev, who like Tsitsipas is hoping to use the Diriyah Tennis Cup as a chance to sharpen his skills and find some match form ahead of the new season.
“I think it’s really great because sometimes when you finish the season and you have eight weeks of not playing tournaments ... you start to feel a bit stressed or nervous because you can’t tell if you’re improving or not," the 25-year-old Russian said. "So these kind of events help to check how your level is at the moment because you compete against other great players."
Fritz, meanwhile, will arrive in Saudi following the best season of his career and the American is looking forward to playing in a new location.
“We’re always on the road and typically, it's the same places every year. So anytime we get to go to a new place, I'm always pretty excited," he said. "I've heard the event’s really nice. I'm excited to come and play against the best in the world and see how it is."
Fritz won his first Masters 1000 title this year, at Indian Wells, and reached a career-high No 8 in the world rankings. As he targets even loftier goals in 2023, the American believes the Diriyah Tennis Cup can provide the sort of preparation not typically available during the off-season.
“I think it's going to help prepare for the Australian Open and for the rest of the year because I can start out by playing against the best players in the world," Fritz, 25, said. "The field is so strong, so it's always great to surround yourself with a lot of great players.
“People should come to support because hopefully it’ll be a lot of good tennis," he added. "Hopefully they’ll be cheering for me to win. They can expect a lot of big hitting, big serving, and hopefully some nice shot-making."
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
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Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
ELIO
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The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Play-off fixtures
Two-legged ties to be played November 9-11 and November 12-14
- Northern Ireland v Switzerland
- Croatia v Greece
- Denmark v Ireland
- Sweden v Italy
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
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- Price: Not announced yet
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
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