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12/22/08 7:02 AM | Ricky Dimon
It's hard to imagine a better season-opening tournament than the one in Doha, Qatar next month. The world's top two players, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, will be in action.
Most years, the tennis world seems to hit the snooze button until the Australian Open, which always begins the third week of January. That won't be the case in 2009, as both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are taking part in the same season-opening event, beginning the first Monday of next month. You can bet tournament organizers of the Doha Open in Qatar are nothing less than ecstatic.
It's only a 250-point event (outside of the Grand Slams, tournaments in 2009 are either worth 250, 500, or 1000 points), meaning 250 ranking points will be awarded to the winner. It will have the feeling of something much bigger, however, with Nadal and Federer on tap.
And that's not all. World No. 4 Andy Murray is also in the field. Murray won two straight Masters Series titles in Cincinnati and Madrid last season and also finished runner-up to Federer at the U.S. Open. The Scot capped off his breakout 2008 campaign by defeating Federer en route to the Masters Cup semifinals.
Other notable Doha participants include Andy Roddick, who will be the tournament's fourth seed, and Russians Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny. Injuries crept up on Roddick late in 2008, but he reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open and won an indoor title in Beijing. Tursunov and Youzhny started off strong last season, but slumped towards the end of the year so they will be looking to get their games back on track in Qatar.
The Doha Open begins on Monday, January 5 after the main draw is revealed on Saturday, January 3. The Australian Open begins two weeks later.
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In spite of fact I do like Rafael Nadal, for me and many others, Brisbane tournament will be blockbuster event, our Novak will be there, so can't wait anymore, God help him and be with our national icon forewer...
gordana , 12/23/08 5:30 PM
Andy Murray has to defend his title there. He faces heavy competition, and might lose a lot of points and thus be pushed down the ladder closer to #5 ranking.
It will be interesting watching his performance there. I will side him, of course.
Universon , 12/23/08 7:16 PM
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a fantastic lineup! i can hardly wait to see these guys compete, especially rafa. let the games begin!
memi , 12/23/08 1:32 AM