Federer fresh and ready to bid for 8th DDF title
dubai — Roger Federer has returned to the game fresh and with his desire just as strong as ever as he launches his bid to climb back up the rankings after injury ravaged his 2016 season. And in a brilliant start to his 2017 campaign he has reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after which he hopes to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships by taking his eighth Dubai crown.
To the disappointment of his many and dedicated fans the crowd favourite was unable to play in Dubai last year due to a freak knee injury that required surgery. Then a persistent lower back pain as well as continuing problems with his knee led to him making the disappointing but brave decision to take a lengthy break after Wimbledon in order that the problem might properly heal. Despite being limited to just seven tournaments in the year Federer still set a number of records. He tied Jimmy Connors’ total of 84 wins and 11 semifinals at Wimbledon.
He defeated Florian Mayer in the Stuttgart quarterfinals in June for his 1,072nd win, passing Ivan Lendl for the second-most wins in the Open Era behind the 1,256 wins of Connors.
The 25th staging of the ATP World tour event takes place from 27th February and Federer will compete in a field that features world number one Andy Murray, Australian, French and US Open winner and Dubai defending champion Stan Wawrinka, two-time Dubai runner-up Tomas Berdych and flamboyant Frenchman Gael Monfils.
Action gets underway first with the WTA event that features eight of the world’s top 10, including world number one Angelique Kerber, reigning French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, 2017 Brisbane winner Karolina Pliskova, 2017 Sydney champion Johanna Konta and former Dubai winners Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki.
“With such an incredible lineup of top stars from both the ATP and WTA tours, Dubai’s tennis fans are assured of fantastic entertainment throughout the twoweek event,” said Tournament Director Salah Tahlak.