Dubai Open news: Novak Djokovic gifted draw against 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships kick off on February 21 and it’s set to be the first time Novak Djokovic will be in action and playing competitively in the 2022 season.
The world No 1 has been given a boost in the opening round draw as he is due to face Italian Lorenzo Musetti who is just 19 years old, but it could turn out to be a tough match if the Serbian underestimates him.
Musetti made it to the quarter finals of the Rotterdam Open last week, losing out to Jiri Lehecka for a place in the semi-finals.
Official ATP Draw! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/w8p7UBBPG1
— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 19, 2022
It was the Dubai Open two years ago which marked the beginning of the world No 57’s professional career as he was handed a wildcard for the competition in 2020, the first tournament that welcomed him onto the ATP Tour.
British player Dan Evans has been handed a tough first round draw against second seed Andrey Rublev, who recently managed to reach the semi final of last week’s tournament in Rotterdam, despite a poor performance in the Australian Open where he bowed out after the third round.
Third seed Felix Auger Aliassime, who defeated Rublev last week and is fresh from his first ever ATP title win at the Rotterdam Open, faces Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round in Dubai who will either enter the tournament on a high after reaching the final of the Qatar Open, or be exhausted after a packed week of matches.
Italian youngster Jannik Sinner who surprised the tennis world by making it to the quarter finals of the Australian Open earlier this year is seeded fourth for the competition and has been drawn against Spanish player Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who was recently beaten by fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter finals of the Qatar Open.
Elsewhere, fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz will play Alexander Bublik; Canadian sixth seed Denis Shapovalov faces Marton Fucsovics; Russian Karen Khachanov has been drawn against Australian Alex de Minaur; and former world No 1 Andy Murray will play a qualifier which is still yet to be decided.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships get underway from February 21.
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