The Qatar ExxonMobil Open is one of the lead-up tournaments leading to the Australian Open to open the year. Next year will include a star-studded field for one of the opening events of the season. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Tomas Berdych, and David Ferrer are all on the entry list as each of them look to kick their season off on a high note heading to Melbourne Park.
Ferrer The Defending Champion
In such a stacked field, Ferrer emerged as the champion in Doha last year. Two major upsets helped the Spaniard claim the title with Ivo Karlovic knocking out Djokovic in the quarterfinals and qualifier Michael Berrer shocking Nadal in the opening round. The 33-year-old survived against Karlovic in the semis, taking two of the three tiebreaks and then defeated Berdych in two tight sets to lift the title.
Nadal Returns For A Seventh Consecutive Year
Nadal’s return to Doha in 2016 will mark a seventh consecutive year that he will be in Qatar. The Spaniard has two career finals under his belt, going 1-1. In 2010, he lost in the final to Nikolay Davydenko despite winning the first set 6-0 but won the title in 2014, defeating Gael Monfils in three sets.
The Spaniard also holds the Qatar Open record for the most doubles titles. Nadal has four doubles titles to his name and is the defending champion with Juan Monaco. Along with his title last year, the world number five won two titles with Marc Lopez and one with Albert Costa.
Djokovic Looks To Pick Up First Title
The world number one has dominated tennis for the past couple of years winning trophy after trophy. However, he still does have a Doha title to his name. That is surprising in and itself just for the sole fact that the Serb has completely owned the Australian Open, five titles and four of the last five, so one would think he’d kick the season off right with a title. With his second straight appearance in Doha, the world number one is looking to lift up a first title,