Dubai Tennis Championships

This week the UAE hosts the 1.7 million dollar Dubai Tennis Championships with a host of top starts taking part with 500 ranking points also on offer. Novak Djokovic returns again this year aiming to win a fourth successive title here. Last year he beat Roger Federer in the final and currently holds a fifteen match win streak at the tournament. Federer himself will be looking for a fifth title here and hopes to add to the title he won a few weeks ago in Rotterdam in what has been a good start to the season for the Swiss star. Briton Andy Murray also returns to Dubai trying to improve on his poor performances in recent years here with his best results being quarter final appearances in '09 and '08. Juan Martin Del Potro looks to continue his return to the top and a strong field here will provide him with a chance to prove he can step up and win big again. Other top players competing are Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Mardy Fish, Thomas Berdych and Janko Tipsarevic. The draw for the event took place earlier this morning and it provides us with some interesting clashes and the one thing clear from the draw is that whoever wins the title here will certainly have earned it. So let's have a look at who the contenders for the title are and examine the draw a bit closer.
      Obviously the one player everyone wanted on the opposite side of the draw was Novak Djokovic and he's been given a few potential tricky encounters. With this being his first outing since the Australian Open and coming off his tiring year last year this could be a chance for somebody to claim a major scalp this week if Djokovic shows any signs of rust. Of course the one thing we've come to expect from the Serb is that even when he looks physically drained he can still pull out a win and no task is too big when it comes to the world number one. How he beat Murray in the Australian I'll never understand. He looked finished, he looked completely lost and yet he still comes through. Then he defied all physical laws just two days later by lasting almost six hours of exhilarating tennis with Rafael Nadal in what was simply outstanding tennis. He just doesn't know when he's beaten. He takes on Frenchman Cedric-Marcel Stebe in the first round here in what is a nice draw for him. He could easily have faced Davydenko or Gasquet and he would have really struggled there but with Stebe he shouldn't face any problems. A second round tie with Sergiy Stakhovsky should be more competitive but won't put the Serb in any real trouble. The quarter final is where he could very well face real competition where he will have to be near his best to win through. He could face fellow countryman Janko Tipsarevic who has a habit of producing performances that trouble the top players and he will relish a tie with Djokovic. In Tipsarevic's way is Igor Kunitsyn who he will be expected to beat. The second round will see him come up against the winner of Ivan Ljubicic and Flavio Cipolla. Cipolla has beaten some good players recently and will fancy himself to beat Ljubicic and will see a chance to beat a top ten players should he face Tipsarevic. I think Tipsarevic will win through to face Djokovic though and that will certainly provide an entertaining clash.
      In the second quarter of the draw Andy Murray will open his account against a qualifier as he attempts to put his defeat to Djokovic behind him and start his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title again. Under Ivan Lendl he looked more aggressive and got many plaudits for his new found attacking style but when the big points came against Djokovic especially in the fifth set he resorted back to his passive style and that's a worrying sign for Murray. When he attacks he is capable of beating anybody but when you turn up to Grand Slam semi finals and especially finals playing defensive or passive you get what you deserve and Murray is a classic example of that. He's been hammered so many times in majors when he's not been aggressive. Federer, Djokovic and Nadal will always win that battle if Murray doesn't attack. These tournaments are where Murray can beat the top players when his defensive game is good enough as players like Nadal, Djokovic and Federer are not at the same intensity levels as they are in majors. Murray faces a potential second round clash with Nikolay Davydenko (who faces a qualifier) and that would certainly test the Scot. In all likelihood Thomas Berdych will be the quarter final opponent for whichever of them comes through. He faces Benjamin Becker in the first round but Becker is currently in the semi finals in Memphis and so will not be at 100% one would imagine and even at his best he would be unlikely to beat the Czech. Berdych is enjoying a good time on tour. He's now a force to be reckoned with and nobody wants face the world number 7. Berdych's attacking game and his power gives him a boost when he plays Murray especially if he attacks the Scot's second serve which is often just rolled into the middle of the court.
      The match of the first round is certainly in the third quarter. Juan Martin Del Potro takes on Aleksandr Dolgopolov. Dolgopolov's deceiving game has caused problems for almost anyone on the tour and he could very well trouble the Argentine. The only reason I think he won't win that is because I think Del Potro is coming back to very near his best which is bad news for all the top players but great news for all us tennis fans. The winner of that one will face a match with Marco Djokovic (Novak's brother) should he overcome a qualifier. I would reckon that the winner of Delpo and Dolgopolov will move on to the quarter final and there they will face a tough task to reach the semis. More than likely they will face the winner of Marcos Baghdatis and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who face off in the first round. Baghdatis had a good year last year and will look to continue that this year but Frenchman Tsonga has got intentions of breaking the top four this year and should progress. A Delpo-Tsonga quarter final would be a repeat of the semi finals of Marseille today which Del Potro just won in a third set.
The final quarter has got eight quality players and will be a very competitive journey to the semi finals for whoever makes it through. Roger Federer faces tricky Frenchman Michael Llodra in the opening round. Normally I would say he might struggle with Llodra in a tournament outside the Masters Series and Grand Slams but Fed has shown this year he is going all out and his win in Rotterdam is a clear sign that Federer is looking to compete at the very top this year. Losing to Djokovic and Nadal in Grand Slams hurts the Swiss maestro and he will want to correct that before finishing his career. The winner of that match will then face either Feliciano Lopez or Nicolas Mahut, two quality players. Despite their abilities neither will be good enough for Federer here. In the quarter final Fed will face could face Mardy Fish who has shown his top ten credentials in the past year and a half and he would trouble Federer at his best. Fish would have to overcome German Andreas Beck in the opening round before a very difficult task against either Russian Mikhail Youzhny or talented Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Gasquet has got more ability than most on the tour but his work ethic and attitude is not good enough although he has been steadily improving that under Riccardo Piatti. He is now a top fifteen ranked player and will be looking for a big year. He should beat Youzhny with home advantage and will be fancy his chances against Fish. He would relish a clash with Federer and would believe he is able to win that match.
    In terms of who can actually win the tournament it's hard to say, with Djokovic not having played since the Aussie Open there is a chance for someone to get a win over him. I think Tipsarevic has a real shot at it but so much depends on Djokovic and so I think I would expect Djok to make it. I also think Berdych has got a real chance of beating Murray. Del Potro should make it through to the semis should he beat Tsonga which I'd expect him to do. While Gasquet or Fish could beat Federer, I think the Swiss star will come through. I would expect the semi final line up to be Djokovic and Berdych and Federer and Del Potro. The fact Federer crushed Delpo in Rotterdam is scaring me from saying Delpo will win although I think his performances this week have been exemplary. Berdych has a real chance to beat Djokovic and with the Serb being out of playing action for awhile he has everything going for him. I think it's possible to see Berdych and Delpo in the Final but Federer Djokovic is more likely and I think Federer is the likely winner. I think he believes he can beat Djokovic and will want his revenge for the US Open defeat. I fancy Federer to win the tournament but any one of Djokovic, Del Potro and Berdych could get the win if things go their way. One thing that's for sure is it will be a quality week of tennis.