The last New Year when Stanislas Wawrinka arrived in Doha he was recovering from a knee surgery that had kept him away for almost six months in 2018.
This time though the Swissman ‘Stan the Man’ is all excited, fit and raring to go at the USD1.4 million Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2020 tournament which begins at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex on Monday.
“Can’t wait for the tournament to start”, was what the three-time Grand Slam champion had tweeted soon after his arrival with a picture of him training at the gym two days ago.
The draw for the tournament, which was held at the Marsa Malaz Kempinski Hotel on Saturday evening, may have also made Wawrinka smile a bit more. Top-seeded, the Swiss has a bye in the opening round and could meet Frenchman Jeremy Chardy or a qualifier in the second round and his opening match of the 2020 ATP Tour season, as he bids to lift the Falcon trophy for the first time.
Wawrinka had lost in the final in 2008 to Britain’s Andy Murray, and since then has been having a roller coaster ride in Doha including having to pull out once following injury.
The currently world-ranked No. 16 will surely be looking to make amends. The 34-year-old, who has a 6-5 win-loss record here, is also likely to meet the 4th seeded Milos Raonic of Canada in the semi-finals.
For Raonic, it could be American Tennys Sandgren or a qualifier in the second round, while sixth seed Filip Krajinovic (Serbia) will meet Kyle Edmund, who replaced injured Frenchman Richard Gasquet (winner in 2013), in his season opener.
The bottom half of the draw is headed by 2018 finalist Andrey Rublev of Russia. The 22-year-old Russian returns for the third straight year, having won five of seven matches in his previous two tournament appearances.
Rublev, who is joined in the bottom quarter by fifth seed Laslo Djere, awaits the winner of wild card Malek Jaziri (Tunisia) and Mikhail Kukushkin’s (Kazakhstan) first-round clash.
Former champion (2012) and 3rd seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and promising American and 8th seed Frances Tiafoe occupy the two seeded positions in the third quarter of the draw.
Tsonga will begin his quest for a second trophy in Qatar against Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia) or Jordan Thompson (Australia).
Doha-resident Fernando Verdasco had a tough luck of draw as he meets compatriot Pablo Andujar also feature in an all-Spanish first-round encounter.
But the pro that he is, Verdasco said, “These things happen. I have to stay focused and make a good start. It’s never nice to play a Spanish player. We’ve known each other for many years and he’s a good friend on court.
But you can’t choose your opponent. Also, he’s the only other player in the draw from Spain. Will just try to do my best and play as best as possible.
“It’s a tough draw for everybody. It’s a really good draw. No matter who you gonna play it’s going to be tough or no matter which side of the draw you are it’s still going to be tough.”
Despite pushing 30s, Verdasco is now injury free and hopes for a good run. “Last year I had knee injury which affected me for a few months. It was hard period to play with that pain in the knee. So I hope to have a better 2020 and put in some better performances and fight for a big title,” he said.
Frances Tiafoe, who made the Australian Open quarter-final in 2019, is playing his first tournament in Qatar. Seeded 8th, the 21-year-old is the youngest American to ranked in the top-50 with a career-high ranking of 29.
“I really like it so far. The courts are really nice, the stadium is also pretty nice, pretty big,” he said soon after the draw.
On the road ahead, he said, “I’ve been on the tour for five years now and it’s time I start to decide to do the right things everyday and play good tennis each time I play, give out my best.
“I’m pretty excited with the draw. There are some good guys in the mix, some young guys. I am just looking to get out there and compete and hopefully get some wins.”
Qatar Tennis Federation Secretary-General Tariq Darwish Zainal, who graced the draw ceremony along with QTF Executive Director Saad al Mohannadi, Tournament Director Karim Alami, and Mohammed al Yousuf of ExxonMobil Qatar, welcomed the challenging draw and predicted a Rublev-Wawrinka final.
“Maybe Rublev and Wawrinka would be in the final... We also have the 2012 winner in Tsonga,” he said hoping for a thrilling finale to the tournament.
Welcoming all the players, he said, “We also gave wild cards to Malek Jaziri of Tunisia, Turkish player Cem Ilkel, Italian Marco Cecchinato (world ranked 70), and also to our national player Rashed Nawaf (in doubles).”
He expected a great week of tennis ahead. “The weather is good at this time compared to Europe. We hope the spectators will enjoy the tournament as we have seen brisk ticket sales.
“Organizing committee is all set. We are proud of having won the best ATP tournament prize last year as well for a third time in five years. We will continue to make our best efforts to provide the best at the tournament to the players and fans,” he added.
By Vinay Nayudu
