Players Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili, Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, Germany’s Dustin Brown and Spain’s Pablo Andujar with ExxonMobil Qatar vice president Alistair Rutledge, Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) general secretary Youssef Mohamed al-Obaidly, QTF assistant secretary general Tariq Darwish Zainal and tournament director Karim Alami at the draw ceremony yesterday; (right) French sixth seed Richard Gasquet of France in action during a practice session yesterday. PICTURES: Jayan Orma

 

By Mikhil Bhat/Doha


At the Qatar ExxonMobil Open draw ceremony yesterday, after the first eight seeds were placed around the draw, it was time to slot the remaining 28 players.
Spanish world number 41 Pablo Andujar had the chance to pick the first name, who would be drawn against world number one Novak Djokovic for the first match of the season. He picked the token, which turned out to be Dusan Lajovic’s, who happened to be on the dais at the time.
A few looks and laughs exchanged, the draw ceremony continued before the last token decided that a yet-to-be-decided qualifier will go against second seed and world number three Rafael Nadal.
Lajovic has been in Doha for three weeks now, preparing for the season ahead. The 24-year-old had an impressive 2014, moving up from 117 in the world to 69, and was hoping to build on that to move into the top 50.
He might have just hit a bump right in the beginning.
And Andujar will have to pay for it. “I am not going to say ‘hi’ to him anymore,” Lajovic said before breaking into a smile. “I am just joking.”
“What can I say? He picked me to play my first match of the year against the number one in the world. It is a big challenge. I did a good pre-season. It is going to be a tough start. I will try my best. It will be a great experience,” he added.
Despite not having played Djokovic on the ATP Tour, Lajovic is no stranger to him. Lajovic is the second highest ranked Serbian behind his more famous compatriot, and has played for Serbia in the Davis Cup.
“If you are not seeded, you can be picked against anyone. Maybe I didn’t have luck in the draw but that is tennis,” he said.
Asked if he thinks he could snap up an upset, he said, “I just hope that I can give my best on the court and then we will see. Novak is one of the best players in tennis history, so it is going to be a great challenge for me.”
Andujar, meanwhile, has been drawn against French sixth seed and the 2013 Doha champion Richard Gasquet.
Czech third seed Tomas Berdych will open his campaign against Uzbek world number 49 Denis Istomin. The two have faced off thrice before with Berdych winning all three.
Like his compatriot Nadal, Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer will begin against a qualifier, while German fifth seed and world number 24 Philipp Kohlschreiber will go against compatriot Jan-Lennard Struff. The German duo have met twice in 2014, with Kohlschreiber winning in Stuttgart and then retiring from the quarter-finals in Metz, France.
Croatian seventh seed Ivo Karlovic will be up against Czech Lukas Rosol in a repeat of their 2011 Doha first-round clash. Karlovic, who is the tallest player ever in the top 100 at 6’ 11”, had won that match 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7).
Rounding up the top eight seeds is Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer. The world number 28 will be up against Italian world number 45 Andreas Seppi.
Germany’s Dustin Brown will take the place of Austrian world number 39 Dominic Thiem, who pulled out in the run-up to the tournament. Brown, who made through to the 2014 Doha main draw through qualifiers, reached the quarter-finals before going down against Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk in three sets.
Brown will face Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi in the first round.
“I have had a pretty good 2014 but didn’t do that well in the Grand Slams. So hopefully, I will do well there this year. Big goal is to crack the top 50,” the 30-year-old said.
The three wild cards of the tournament are Qatar’s Jabor Mohamed Ali Mutawa, Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri and Egypt’s Mohamed Safwat.

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