Pretty much anybody who is anybody in tennis will be in Dubai over the next couple of weeks in one of the biggest of the non-Grand Slam tournaments. The $2 million Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is certainly a big deal.
Eight of the top ten ranked men will be in the city, which has already become a serious sporting destination, while seven of the top ten women will also be there. Interestingly, the women play in week one, starting on Monday, and then the men are in action in week two.
Since its inaugural tournament in 1993, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships has consistently showcased the world's best players in competition and also in spectacular locations around Dubai.
The Dubai Tennis Championships (also known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships and the Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Championships) is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on outdoor hardcourts. The tournament organizes both a men's and women's event. The tournament takes place under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
In 2005, two ATP World Tour Champions - Andre Agassi and Roger Federer - scaled the Burj Al Arab for a friendly practice session atop the helipad at the iconic hotel.
Since its inaugural tournament in 1993, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships has consistently showcased the world's best players in competition and also in spectacular locations around Dubai.
The Dubai Tennis Championships (also known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships and the Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Championships) is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on outdoor hardcourts. The tournament organizes both a men's and women's event. The tournament takes place under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
In 2005, two ATP World Tour Champions - Andre Agassi and Roger Federer - scaled the Burj Al Arab for a friendly practice session atop the helipad at the iconic hotel.
The respective winners of the recent Australian Open are ready to follow their success down under with a good showing in the Middle East.
For the women, Justine Henin and Venus Williams have enjoyed themselves over the years, with four and two wins each respectively, but last year the crown went to Caroline Wozniacki.
The Dane was knocked off the number one spot just last month after her quest for a first Grand Slam win ended in failure in Melbourne. Now the number four in the world, she has her sights set on the winner of the Australian Open and the new number one, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
Wozniacki will have to do better than last week, when she was knocked out of the Qatar Open early by Lucie Safarova, despite having three match-points.
"I just want to get out of here. You don't want to stay when you lose a match like that," Wozniacki said, and added, “It's really disappointing but you have to move on.”
Azarenka returns to the Middle East in much better shape than she was a year ago when defeats in Doha and Dubai almost prompted her to quit the sport.
"My mum told me to come home and rest, and not be crazy about it,” she said. “And my gran pointed out there are things so much harder in life than tennis matches.”
“Last year I was in a bit of a mess. I couldn't control any of my emotions. I had to change my mentality. So now I don’t try to, you know, think ‘why is this happening to me?’ Instead I just try to accept and deal with it.”
Novak Djokovic has dominated men’s tennis in the past few years and Dubai has been no exception with the last three titles going the Serbian’s way.
Already, 2012 couldn’t have gone better. He won the Australian Open and last week was given his country’s highest honor, Order of the Karadjordje’s Star of the 1st degree by Serbian president Boris Tadic.
He’s going to take some stopping soon...
ATP (Men's)
- Name: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
- Category: ATP World Tour 500
- Place: Dubai, U.A.E
- Date: 27.02.2012-03.03.2012
- Draw Size: S-32 D-16
- Surface: Hard
- Prize Money: $ 1,700,475
- Total Financial Commitment: $ 2,313,975
- Ticket Hotline: +9714-224-4568
WTA (Women's)
- Prize Money: $2,000,000
- Surface: Hard/Outdoors
- Tournament Director: Salah Tahlak
Dubai Tennis Stadium:
The Aviation Club is home of The Dubai Tennis Stadium which was inaugurated in 1994 and has hosted the Dubai Tennis Championships ever since. The state-of-the art stadium is home to the prestigious centre court that has hosted tennis stars Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Goran Ivanisevic, Venus & Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport and many more.
The Dubai Tennis Stadium was voted "Best Venue" by players on the ATP Tennis Tour for three consecutive years.
Tournament Schedule :
Day Date WTA Rounds
Sat 18-Feb Qualifying Women's
Sun 19-Feb Qualifying Women's
Mon 20-Feb 1st Round
Tue 21-Feb 2nd Round
Wed 22-Feb 3rd Round
Thur 23-Feb Quarterfinals
Fri 24-Feb Semifinals
Sat 25-Feb Finals
Day Date ATP World Tour Rounds
Sat 25-Feb Qualifying Men's
Sun 26-Feb Qualifying Men's
Mon 27-Feb 1st Round
Tue 28-Feb 2nd Round
Wed 29-Feb 3rd Round
Thur 01-Mar Quarterfinals
Fri 02-Mar Semifinals
Sat 03-Mar Finals
| MEN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SINGLES | DOUBLES | |||
| 1993 | Karel Novacek | Anders Jarryd/John Fitzgerald | ||
| 1994 | Magnus Gustafsson | Mark Woodforde/Todd Woodbridge | ||
| 1995 | Wayne Ferreira | Grant Connell/Patrick Galbraith | ||
| 1996 | Goran Ivanisevic | Byron Black/Grant Connell | ||
| 1997 | Thomas Muster | Goran Ivanisevic/Alexander Groen | ||
| 1998 | Alex Corretja | Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes | ||
| 1999 | Jerome Golmard | Wayne Black/Sandon Stolle | ||
| 2000 | Nicolas Kiefer | Jiri Novak/David Rikl | ||
| 2001 | Juan Carlos Ferrero | Joshua Eagle/Standon Stolle | ||
| 2002 | Fabrice Santoro | Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor | ||
| 2003 | Roger Federer | Leander Paes /David Rikl | ||
| 2004 | Roger Federer | Mahesh Bhupathi/Fabrice Santoro | ||
| 2005 | Roger Federer | Martin Damm/Radek Stepanek | ||
| 2006 | Rafael Nadal | Paul Hanley/Kevin Ullyett | ||
| 2007 | Roger Federer | Fabrice Santoro/Nenad Zimonjic | ||
| 2008 | Andy Roddick | Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles | ||
| 2009 | Novak Djokovic | Rick de Voest/Dmitry Tursunov | ||
| 2010 | Novak Djokovic | Simon Aspelin/Paul Hanley | ||
| 2011 | Novak Djokovic | Sergiy Stakhovsky/Mikhail Youzhny | ||
| WOMEN | ||||
| 2001 | Martina Hingis | Barbara Rittner/ Marlene Weigartner | ||
| 2002 | Amelie Mauresmo | Barbara Rittner/Maria Vento Kabchi | ||
| 2003 | Justine Henin-Hardenne | Svetlana Kuznetsova/Martina Navratilova | ||
| 2004 | Justine Henin-Hardenne | Janet Husarova/Conchita Martinez | ||
| 2005 | Lindsay Davenport | Virginia Ruano Pascual/Paola Suarez | ||
| 2006 | Justine Henin-Hardenne | Kveta Peschke/Francesca Schiavone | ||
| 2007 | Justine Henin | Cara Black/Liezel Huber | ||
| 2008 | Elena Dementieva | Cara Black/Liezel Huber | ||
| 2009 | Venus Williams | Cara Black/Liezel Huber | ||
| 2010 | Venus Williams | Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez/Nuria Llagostera Vives | ||
| 2011 | Caroline Wozniacki | Liezel Huber/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez | ||
Grandstand Ticket Prices
| Women's Week | |||
|---|---|---|---|
CATEGORY
|
DAY
| TIMINGS |
2012
|
Day 1 (Feb 20)
|
Mon
| 2:00 AND 7:00 PM |
50
|
Day 2 (Feb 21)
|
Tues
| 2:00 AND 7:00 PM |
50
|
Day 3 (Feb 22)
|
Wed
| 2:00 AND 7:00 PM |
50
|
Day 4 (Feb 23)
|
Thurs
| 2:00 AND 7:00 PM |
150
|
Day 5 (Feb 24)
|
Fri
| 2:00 AND 7:00 PM |
250
|
FINALS (Feb 25)
|
Sat
| 5:00 AND 7:00 PM |
350
|
Total Price Per Week
|
900
| ||
| Men's Week | |||
|---|---|---|---|
CATEGORY
|
DAY
| TIMINGS |
2012
|
Day 1 (Feb 27)
|
Mon
| 2:00 AND 7:00 PM |
50
|
Day 2 (Feb 28)
|
Tues
| 2:00 AND 7:00 PM |
50
|
Day 3 (Feb 29) - SOLD OUT
|
Wed
| 2:00 AND 7:00 PM |
50
|
Day 4 (Mar 1) - SOLD OUT
|
Thurs
| 2:00 AND 7:00 PM |
150
|
Day 5 (Mar 2) - SOLD OUT
|
Fri
| 2:00 AND 7:00 PM |
250
|
FINALS (Mar 3) - SOLD OUT
|
Sat
| 5:00 AND 7:00 PM |
350
|
Total Price Per Week
|
900
| ||
