Djokovic to play Dzumhur in first round, Wawrinka handed tough opener
Doha, Qatar: Top seed and world No.1 Novak Djokovic will start his Qatar ExxonMobil Open campaign against Damir Dzumhur while 2016 US Open champion and former world No.3 Stanislas Wawrinka, who is struggling to regain his form after a knee surgery, has a tough opener against Karen Khachanov.
Saturday’s draw at Four Seasons Hotel in Doha also handed second seed Dominic Thiem a first tricky first-round match, against Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Last year’s runner-up Russia’s Andrey Rubley will take on seasoned Italian Andreas Seppi in another interesting matchup.
Djokovic, the 2017 champion in Doha, ended last season in top form and is certainly going to be the man to beat not only in Qatar ExxonMobil Open, but in every tournament he appears.
ATP Tour veteran Robin Hasse, who take on Nicolas Jarry in the opening round, said Djokovic was likely to continue with his domination in the world tennis despite the presence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
"I think Novak (Djokovic) of course has great chances. He is fit, he is young than the other two, said Hasse.
The Dutchman, who was against the idea of having expectations, saying “expectations are the mother of all disappointments,” just wanted to do his best and see how it goes with his game.
“If you keep pushing the boundaries of your body and also your game the wins will come and that will end in better rankings,” said Hasse.
The 31-year-old consider Nikoloz Basilashvili as the player to watch out for as the Georgian had an amazing second half to his last season.
“The dark horse for me Basilashvili. He has been doing well, really well the last half year,” said Hasse.
Basilashvili will Albert Ramos Vinolas of Spain in the first round while Qatar’s wild-card Mubarak Shannon will play a qualifier.
Qatar Tennis Federation Secretary General Tariq Darwish, who is also the general coordinator of the tournament, said Qatar ExxonMobil Open always has plenty to offer for the fans.
“This year we have a lot of top players. We have Novak, we have Wawrinka we have Berdych, Khachanov, Verdasco, David Goffin. This is what Qatar ExxonMobil Open usually gives the spectators," said Darwish.
"We are very happy with the field. We have some very tough first-round matches such as Wawrinka against Khachanov Seppi against Rubley, who was in the final last season. And our Mubarak Shannon will hopefully have a chance to play in the second round. And we welcome the spectators to the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on Monday," he added.
