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Nadal, Federer set for capital duel

World No 1 Rafael Nadal and World No 2 Roger Federer have confirmed their entries for the rebranded Mubadala World Tennis Championship to be held in Abu Dhabi.

The stellar field also includes Robin Soderling (World No 5), Tomas Berdych (World No 6), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (World No 13) and Marcos Baghdatis (World No 20), organisers Flash Entertainment and IMG announced on Monday.

The championship was earlier known as the Capitala World Tennis Championship and Mubadala, the strategic investment and development company, has come in as the new title sponsor for the event, which runs from December 30 to January 1, 2011. The championship will be held at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex at the Zayed Sports City.

“Abu Dhabi is a very special place to me. I’ve enjoyed the best season of my career so far and it all started with a victory in Abu Dhabi, so it holds great memories. The early season momentum gained in Abu Dhabi is good preparation for the Australian Open,” defending champion and World No 1 Rafael Nadal said in a statement.

The 24-year-old Spaniard followed up his season opening win in Abu Dhabi writing his name into the record books, by becoming just the seventh player in history and the youngest player in the Open Era, to complete the Career Grand-Slam.

Nadal added: “Everything about Abu Dhabi and the tournament from the weather, facilities and the atmosphere in the stadium, make it the ideal place to start my season. Having seen the strength of the field, I look forward to returning to defend my title in a fantastic city that loves tennis and is emerging as one of the world’s great sporting destinations.”

Federer, the all-time leader in men’s tennis with 16 Grand Slam singles titles, said in a statement: “To win the Mubadala World Tennis Championship against such a strong field will be the perfect start to the 2011 season as this world class tournament has put Abu Dhabi on the global tennis stage. The city’s genuine commitment to support the growth of tennis in the region is exciting and inspiring, and makes it personally rewarding to play here as part of this celebration of tennis. Abu Dhabi is a place I always want to win in.”

John Lickrish, managing director, Flash Entertainment, said: “The global tennis season starts right here in Abu Dhabi with the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Every single player is of Grand Slam pedigree; with each having played in or won at least one Grand Slam final. So, it is going to be intense on-court action from start to finish. This year we are excited to welcome Mubadala onboard as our title sponsor, an organisation that shares our ambition for the future of the championship. The stage is set for the people of the UAE and around the globe, to enjoy a world-class event live from the capital. This year is bigger and better. The tennis season officially starts in Abu Dhabi.”

Abdulla Al Shamsi from Mubadala said: “The facilities on offer at the Zayed Sports City is world-class. It is venues like this, which put Abu Dhabi on the world sporting map. Mubadala has a track record of brining world-class events like the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the FIFA Club World Cup. We want to build the profile of Abu Dhabi and also ensure that the community takes part.”

Greg Sproule of IMG said: “Collectively, we will witness a bigger and better event. In the span of two short years, the event has grown from strength to strength and has firmly established the kick-off event of the season. The Mubadala Community Cup and the Tennis in Schools Programme are also great initiatives which are alongside the event.”

The event will retain the same format of two matches each on two days followed by the third and fourth place play-off and the final on the last day. Like the previous two years, Nadal and Federer have been given byes into the semi-final. The draw for the event will be held at the end of November.

Sproule said that Nadal and Federer preferred the format. “It is the beginning of the season for them and we don’t want to burden them. We are respectful of their preparations in the lead-up to the Australian Open and it is our responsibility to ensure that it goes well,” he said.

Tickets are priced at Dh65 for Category 3, Dh95 for Category 2 and Dh120 for Category 1 on Day 1. Day 2 prices for Category 3, 2 and 1 are Dh115, Dh185 and Dh240 respectively. Category 3 tickets for Day 3 are Dh165, Category 2 for Dh275 and Dh360 for Category 1.

james@khaleejtimes.com