World number one Novak Djokovic has confirmed his entry into next year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The tournament takes place from February 15-27 as the Serb looks to win a fourth career title in Dubai. Djokovic will also be playing in Serbia’s Davis Cup World Group tie against Kazakhstan. The Serbs will host that tie and could potentially meet champions Great Britain in the second round.
Djokovic Runner-Up In Last Year’s Tournament In Dubai
The ATP 500 event in Dubai is one of the most popular 500 events on tour because it is one of the first 500 events of the year and takes place in one of the world’s most renowned cities. This year, the Serb was seeded first with his Big Four rival Roger Federer seeded second.
In his opening round match, Djokovic had a difficult time against Vasek Pospisil but still managed to win in in straight sets. After that, he cruised to victories over Andrey Golubev and Marsel Ilhan, only dropping five games in four sets. He met Tomas Berdych in the semifinals and won in three sets after dropping the second, despite handing the Czech a bagel on the scoreboard in the opener. In the final, he met Federer, and it was the Swiss who put on a sublime performance to take the title to hand the Serb his second loss of the year.
Djokovic’s Recent Davis Cup Appearances
This year, the 28-year-old only played in Serbia’s World Group match against Croatia. He made light work of Mate Delic and teamed up with Nenad Zimonjic to win the doubles rubber to eventually sweep the Croats. The victory ensured Serbia’s place in next year’s World Group as the Serb did not play after that.
Before this year, Djokovic’s last Davis Cup appearance was in the 2013 Davis Cup Final against the Czech Republic. Despite winning two singles rubbers over Radek Stepanek and Berdych in straight sets, the Serbs lost the final to the Czechs repeated as champions.