Defending champion Andrey Rublev, former world No 1 Daniil Medvedev, and Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev will join Novak Djokovic and, potentially, Rafael Nadal at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships next month, organisers confirmed on Monday.
In the latest round of player announcements, Dubai will feature at least nine of the world's top 20, with Polish world No 11 Hubert Hurkacz, world No 18 Marin Cilic of Croatia, Spanish world No 15 Pablo Carreno Busta, and world No 20 Karen Kachanov of Russia also set to compete in the ATP 500 tournament.
“The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships has a long history of providing fans with the chance to watch the best players in the world,” said Colm McLoughlin, executive vice chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free.
“With [nine] of the top 20 men, including Novak, as well as last year’s winner Andrey Rublev and a host of others, spectators in Dubai are in for another fantastic, unmissable tournament next month.”
Nadal had been the first headline name confirmed for the tournament, which takes place February 24 to March 4, but an injury at the Australian Open leaves the Spaniard's participation in serious doubt.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion is recovering from a leg injury sustained in his second-round defeat at Melbourne Park and said the expected recovery time is six to eight weeks, meaning he faces a race against time to be fit for Dubai.
“The news of Rafa Nadal’s injury last week in Melbourne was most unfortunate. We wish him all the best for a rapid return to full health and fitness; his well-being is the priority,” tournament director Salah Tahlak said. “We are in contact with Rafa’s team and will be monitoring the situation in the coming days and weeks.”
Should Nadal be absent, the Dubai field will still be stacked with plenty of top players.
Djokovic, who began his 2022 season in Dubai after a visa saga in Australia led to his deportation, is no stranger to the tournament having won the trophy six times. The Serb is currently back in Australia where he continues his bid for a record-extending 10th Australian Open title.
Rublev returns to the Aviation Club to defend the title he won last year when he beat Jiri Vesely in the final. The Russian world No 6 is also still going strong at the Australian Open having booked his place in the quarter-finals on Monday.
Medvedev returns to Dubai for the third time and first since 2019, when he lost in the first round. The Russian, however, will arrive back in the UAE as a Grand Slam champion having won the 2021 US Open.
Meanwhile, Zverev will compete in Dubai for just the second time in his career - having made his debut in 2015 - as the German continues his comeback from the ankle injury which ruled him out for most of last season.
The ATP tournament will be held the week after the WTA event, where world No 1 Iga Swiatek and second-ranked Ons Jabeur will headline.
ELIO
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final
UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv
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Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?
Would I ever find you again
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sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances