Andy Murray of Great Britain attends a press conference on the eve of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha yesterday.
There will be fireworks on and off the court this week in Doha at the star-studded Qatar ExxonMobil Open as the top two players on the ATP Tour Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are set to begin their season in Qatar.
Djokovic, who was dethroned as year-end No. 1 in the ATP Rankings by Murray at the ATP Finals, will be seeking revenge in the Qatari capital.
The longtime rivals could face off in the final, which would be their first encounter at an ATP World Tour 250 event. With only 630 points separating them atop the ATP Rankings, the battle for No. 1 will be hotly contested to open the new season.
Murray carries an 8-1 Head2Head edge into his first-round encounter against Jeremy Chardy, with either Gerald Melzer or Paul-Henri Mathieu potentially waiting next. Fellow Top 10 player Tomas Berdych and World No. 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could loom large in the semi-finals. Murray, who owns a 15-2 mark in four trips to Doha, will be looking to his extend his career-best 24-match win streak.
Djokovic, meanwhile, will face Jan-Lennard Struff for the first time in his opener. The 26-year-old German is eyeing Top 10 wins in back-to-back tournaments, having notched his first at the BNP Paribas Masters in November, defeating Stan Wawrinka in a deciding tie-break.
Djokovic could face either Horacio Zeballos or Florian Mayer in the second round.
