EVOLUTION OF THE TOURNAMENT
From Volkov and Novacek to Federer and Djokovic
It all began on February 1, 1993, when 32 of the finest players descended on Dubai for the inaugural tournament, freshly endorsed by the ATP and backed by Dubai Duty Free. The likes of Russia’s Alexander Volkov, Austrian Thomas Muster, Karel Novacek of Czechoslovakia, Frenchman Fabrice Santoro and Spanish brothers Emilio and Javier Sanchez (there was even a Briton way before the glory days of Tim Henman and Andy Murray) were all fighting it out for the now famous silver Dhow trophy.
After a week of dazzling competition, the multicultural crowds cheered as Czechoslovakia star Novacek came out on top in a thrilling final against Santoro, winning 6-4, 7-5 in a tight contest.
Word quickly spread among the players and others about the outstanding hospitality, professionalism and attention to detail. The WTA joined the party in 2001.
By 1994, word had got out about the event. The vast Dubai Tennis Stadium was opened — it went on to be voted ‘Best Venue’ by the players for three consecutive years — and it was graced by the appearance of one of the greatest players of all time — Ivan Lendl. The Czechoslovakian competed along with the reigning French Open champion and top seed Sergi Bruguera. The title went Magnus Gustafsson as he upset Bruguera 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
Fast-forward a few years and the list of top stars to have competed here grew and grew. Wayne Ferreira, Pat
Cash, Jim Courier, Goran Ivanisevic, Boris Becker, Richard Krajicek, Alex Corretja, Carlos Moya, Marcelo Rios and Yevgeny Kafelnikov all took time to circle Dubai on their calendars.
Still the upsets came. In 1999, unseeded Frenchman Jerome Golmard defeated Nicolas Kiefer 6-4, 6-2 to claim the title. Defending champion Corretja failed to survive the first round.
Still no top seed had been crowned DDFTC champion. That all changed at the start of the new millennium as Kiefer defeated former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. The WTA made its bow the same year with Swiss sensation Martina Hingis claiming the Coffee Pot trophy.
The following year proved that Dubai was now firmly on the map for both the men and women, especially in France as Fabrice Santoro followed up Amelie Mauresmo’s victory in the WTA week by overcoming Younes El Aynaoui 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. There would not be two winners from the same country again until 2019, when Swiss fans enjoyed victories by Belinda Bencic and Roger Federer.
2003 marked the beginning of Federer’s dominance of the event, as he defeated Jiri Novak 6-1, 7-6 to win the first of his eight titles. He went on to defend his crown in 2004 and 2005, before a certain Rafael Nadal ended his reign.
In 2008, as in 2004, Federer drew a formidable first round opponent in Andy Murray who, ranked 11, was unseeded and stunned the Swiss titan. Andy Roddick, who went on to overcome Novak Djokovic in the semis and then Feliciano Lopez for the title.
In 2009, Djokovic was the top seed and he ended the week with the first of his three consecutive titles, beating David Ferrer 7-5, 6-3.
In 2012 the Championships celebrated its 20th anniversary in style with a record crowd of more than 100,000. Federer won his fifth Dubai title. In 2013, Djokovic reclaimed his title, beating Berdych 7-5, 6-3. By 2015, Federer had seven titles by beating Djokovic 6-3, 7-5 — the pair now had claimed the trophy in 11 of the last 13 years.
Stan Wawrinka held off Marcos Baghdatis in 2016. In 2017 Federer fluffed three match points and fell to a sensational 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5) defeat at the hands of 116th-ranked qualifier Evgeny Donskoy. Murray went on to take the title.
Roberto Bautista Agut added his name to the winners’ list before that man Federer was back at it again in 2019.
In 2020, Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 to win his fifth crown. Held behind closed doors due to Covid-19, 2021 saw tournament wild card Aslan Karatsev defeat qualifier Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-2.
Word quickly spread among the players about the outstanding hospitality, professionalism and attention to detail.