Nadal, Djokovic, and other stars to play at Mubadala World Tennis Championship
What's the story?
Both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will play in the 3-day exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi this month, the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, in what promises to be a thrilling even yet again. Besides Nadal and Djokovic featuring in the lineup, NextGen stars Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Hyeon Chung will also play in the event.
In case you didn't know
Nadal and Djokovic have won this exhibition tournaments four times each which is a joint record. Although it is only an exhibition event, both players will undoubtedly be keen to go one better than their long-time rival.
The heart of the matter
Though this exhibition occurs mere weeks after the preceding season has ended, it is seen as a warm-up for the upcoming season. Despite the event not being an official ATP event and, therefore, offering no ranking points, it has often boasted strong rosters of tennis stars.
This year is arguably the strongest field that the exhibition event has ever seen, with old tour favourite, Gael Monfils, filling the final spot for the event with the players previously listed. The greatest point of intrigue will undoubtedly be the continuing battle between two-thirds of the Big 3 and the NextGen players.
As the top 2 seeds of the competition, Nadal and Djokovic have automatic advancement to the semi-final stage. There Nadal will await either Medvedev or Chung and Djokovic will await either Monfils or Tsitsipas.
We can see that Nadal will face a next-gen player in the semi-finals and Djokovic has a 50% chance of doing the same. Coming off the back of the ATP World Tour Finals, the world will be keen to see whether Tsitsipas can continue this form by beating one of the big 3 once again to another title.
With the next season almost upon us, there are many wondering whether the NextGen will overthrow the Big 3 in 2020 and this exhibition event could be a good indicator of things to come.
Source: https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/ATP_Tennis/81234/rafael-nadal-and-novak-djokovic-lead-strong-mubadala-wtc-draw/