Dubai Duty Free Presents the Best Ever Field for the 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
- The world's best players set to grace centre court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium -
Dubai, UAE, February 23rd, 2008: Dubai Duty Free, owners and organizers of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, have assembled the strongest field in the history of the event, meaning that no matter what top player you admire, you are almost certain to see them compete at the Dubai Tennis Stadium over the next two weeks.
The action kicks off on Monday (February 25th) with the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournament and features an incredible line-up of the world’s best players. The entry list for one of the most popular tournaments in the world is so packed with big names that only one player outside of the top 20 can be guaranteed direct entry to the event, with anyone ranked below 21 having to play the qualifying rounds or rely on a wild card from tournament owners and organisers Dubai Duty Free.
“The player cut-off of 21 for women and 36 for men underlines the tremendous growth, popularity and competitiveness of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, which is now amongst the top tennis events in the world,” said Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free. The tournament is a firm favourite with players and attracts the biggest names and stars in the world of tennis.”
Among the names competing for the prestigious trophy are four-time Dubai winner Justine Henin, reigning Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova, three-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Jelena Jankovic, French and Australian Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic and Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli.
As well as such established names, several rising stars are included in the line-up, including Dinara Safina, Agnes Szavay and recent Australian Open doubles champion Alona Bondarenko.
Aside from welcoming new players and old to the event, the Dubai Tennis Championships also welcomes Barclays as the title sponsor of the tournament for the next three years (2008 – 2010 inclusive).
“There is a great sense of excitement around Barclays since the announcement of this sponsorship,” said Ahmed Khan, CEO of Barclays Global Retail and Commercial Banking Emerging Markets. “Barclays has a long association with key sporting events worldwide. With the top ranked players attending this year’s tournament in Dubai, this is definitely one of the premier events in the region and the right fit for the Barclays brand.”
Once the dust has settled from the women’s event, the world’s top five men are among those who will battle for the trophy from March 3rd, with Roger Federer leading the charge as he attempts to win the event for the fifth time in six years.
Challenging him will be the world number two, 2006 Dubai champion and three-time Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal, newly-crowned Australian Open champion and world number three Novak Djokovic, 2007 Roland Garros and US Open semi-finalist Nikolay Davydenko who is ranked four, and Masters Cup finalist David Ferrer, ranked five.
Even those elite performers are not sure of success with recent Davis Cup winner Andy Roddick, who is making his debut in Dubai, 2008 Doha champion Andy Murray and 2007 Wimbledon semi-finalist Richard Gasquet just some of those able to beat anyone on their day.
“Almost every top player in the world will be in Dubai during the two weeks of the 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships,” said Colm McLoughlin. “The two defending champions are ranked number one in the world, but they will have to fight very hard indeed to hold on to their titles.”
Play at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
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