Anderson to defend Mubadala tennis title
Wimbledon finalist joins Djokovic and Venus Williams in list of those confirmed
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Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson will return to Abu Dhabi to defend his Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) crown from December 27-29.
The highest ranked South African in ATP rankings history will be joined by Serbian 14-time Grand Slam champion and recent Shanghai Masters winner, Novak Djokovic in the men’s side of the draw, while seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams tops the women’s draw, with more players to be announced.
Anderson is making his third appearance in the capital. After winning his fourth ATP title in New York and reaching his second Grand Slam final at Wimbledon this year — where he also earned his 300th career win — the world number eight is now looking to defend his MWTC title.
Last year he defeated Pablo Carreno Busta and Dominic Thiem in the opening matches before beating Roberto Bautista Agut in the championship match.
“What a tournament last year turned out to be,” he said. “The MWTC is the perfect start to the tennis season and I cannot wait to return to the court and defend my title.”
With a line-up of male and two female six top players, ■ this year’s tournament will be the biggest yet. Off court there will also be a kids, foodies and ladies day theme on each of the three days.
The MWTC leads into the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, which is played on the same hard court surface and in similar weather conditions.
Singapore event
Meanwhile, former US Open champion Sloane Stephens has qualified for her first seasonending WTA Finals in Singapore, the WTA Tour said. Stephens joins fellow Grand Slam champions Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki in the singles field for the Oct. 21-28 event.
Two spots remain open for the elite eight-player field, with Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova in prime position to qualify for the round-robin tournament that offers $7 million (Dh25.71 million) in prize money.