Anderson will begin his Abu Dhabi title defence against Chung

The draw for the 2018 Mubadala World Tennis Championship was announced yesterday, with defending champion Kevin Anderson beginning his title defence against Hyeon Chung on December 27.

South African Anderson, making his third appearance at the three-day event in Abu Dhabi, faces the South Korean Australian Open semi-finalist, who will be making his debut in the capital.

World No 6 Anderson has won their two previous encounters on the ATP Tour.

The day’s second match will see world No 8 Dominic Thiem take on another Abu Dhabi debutant in Karen Khachanov. Thiem, who made his debut at the MWTC last year and also reached his first grand slam final at the French Open in May, faces the world No 11 for a place in the semi-finals.

World No 1 and 14-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic and world No 2 Rafael Nadal, who will be making his ninth appearance at MWTC, both received byes until Day 2 on December 28, where they will face the winners of the previous day’s play.

Nadal will be up against the winner of the Anderson and Chung encounter, while Djokovic faces the victor of the Khachanov and Thiem clash.

The final takes place on December 29, with a women’s exhibition match, involving Venus Williams and a yet to be named opponent, also scheduled to be played during the event.

Tickets for the 11th edition of the MWTC start from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 and all Virgin megastores across the UAE.

Children aged between two to 12 years can enter for free on Day 1, along with the purchase of one adult ticket.