The 2018 tennis season is not far away. Some avid tennis watchers will be desperate to get their tennis fix and the Mubadala World Tennis Championships offers some of the most elite tennis players of the world. Those elite players like Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal, who have all dominated this event over the years–and it looks likely to still be the case in the 2018 edition of the exhibition tournament that many use as essential preparation to the competitive season that lies ahead.
So what players will be playing the event? Six players in total will play the event, which takes place from December 28th-30th. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will both have a bye into the semifinal. Nadal is defending the title, but he has a dark cloud lingering over him going into the event. He ended his 2017 season prematurely due to a knee injury, which bothered him at the Paris Masters, but proved seriously damaging and detrimental during his one match played at the World Tour Finals in London.
Novak Djokovic is making a welcome return to the court after finishing his season midway through the season, following a Quarter-Final exit to Tomas Berdych in Wimbledon. A lot has changed for the Serb since we last saw him in competitive action. He has added Radek Stepanek as part of his coaching team, while retaining the duties of Andre Agassi, who will likely be the go-to-man at the bigger events as Agassi cannot commit to a full-time schedule on the road due to other commitments.
Another player that has been on the injury list but is hoping for a successful 2018 season is three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka. He has recently split with longtime coach Magnus Norman, which he publicly stated that it had deeply shocked him. A coach that he has experienced the highest of highs as a tennis professional with. Now Wawrinka is without a coach and remains a doubt for the Australian Open. If Wawrinka can play the Mubadala World Tennis Championships then he will face Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in his opening match.
In the other opening match, former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic will go up against Dominic Thiem and the winner will go on to face Djokovic in the semi-final.
The tournament boasts a fantastic field as usual with three of the six players all winning Grand Slam titles. The Mubadala World Tennis Championships may just be the perfect place to start your brand new tennis season!
