Murray and Djokovic to renew battle for supremacy in Doha

The silver jubilee edition of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open is set for some explosive action with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic renewing their battle for supremacy at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in January 2017.
Their thrilling battles in 2016 culminated with Murray snatching the world number one crown from Djokovic at the Paris masters two weeks ago and then confirming his status by winning his first ATP Tour finals in London last Sunday.
The 29-year-old Scot’s victory capped an impressive 2016 that also saw him win the Wimbledon and Olympic singles titles.
Having spent the majority of his career overshadowed by the incredible achievements of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Murray has expressed his ambition to dominate the Tour next year, and the Doha event, the first of 2017 for both players, could provide an indication of how things could pan out in the new season.
“I would like to try and stay there, obviously. It’s taken a huge effort the last five, six months to get there,” Murray said after beating Djokovic in the final in London
“I’m aware that’s going to be extremely difficult because I had a great year this year and I only managed to do it by one match.
“But now that I’ve got there, I would be motivated to try and stay in that position.”
Preparations have already begun for the 25th edition of the Doha tournament which was launched in 1993 when Boris Becker edged Goran Ivanisevic in a battle of big servers to lift the inaugural title.
Since then many tennis greats have claimed the winner’s trophy, including Stefan Edberg (1994 and 1995), Roger Federer (2005, 2006, 2011), Murray himself (2008, 2009) and Nadal (2014).
Other players featuring in the January tournament include Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2012 champion, Tomas Berdych, Jeremy Chardy, Ivo Karlovic, Fernando Verdasco, Dustin Brown and David Goffin .
In all, there are 25 direct and three wild card entries for the tournament in addition to four qualifiers.
Qatar Exxon Mobil Open is the first tournament of the season and it gives players the opportunity to prepare for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, held two weeks later in Melbourne, Australia.
There will be 32 players in the main draw with action beginning on January 2 and the final set for January 7.
The qualifying rounds will take place from December 31, 2016 to January 1, 2017.
“We are happy to welcome the world once again to Doha. Qatar is the hub of global sport and we are passionate about tennis. I’ve no doubt that the 2017 Qatar Exxon Mobil Open will surpass the previous editions in all aspects,” Tournament Director Karim Alami said.