This Week On The ATP Tour – CW08

Perfect view from the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel of the Dubai Tennis Stadium

STARNBERG, February 21, 2022

There will be three ATP Tour events this week on three different continents, with the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and the Chile Dove Men+Care Open in Santiago.

The battle for No. 1 in the ATP Rankings is heating up, with top-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia and World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev from Russia in action in Dubai and Acapulco, respectively. If Medvedev wins the Acapulco title, he will become the 27th player to reach World No. 1 since the ATP Rankings began in 1973.

Djokovic’s season, derailed in January when he was deported from Australia, finally starts this week in Dubai. The 34-year-old Belgrade native will chase his sixth trophy in the U.A.E. desert. Djokovic, top seed at the ATP 500 hard-court event, will open his campaign against Italian wild card entry Lorenzo Musetti. Andrey Rublev of Russia will be the second seed in Dubai.

Medvedev will take on Frenchman Benoit Paire in his first round match in Acapulco. The 26-year-old from Moscow is making his debut at the ATP 500 hard-court tournament held at the Arena GNP Seguros.  The bottom half of the draw is led by Alexander Zverev. The German will be challenged by US-American youngster Jenson Brooksby in his opening match.

Reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal will also be back in action. The No. 4 seed will face lucky loser Denis Kudla from the United States in his first match since his triumph in Melbourne.

Cristian Garin will try to thrill his home fans in Santiago, where he is the top seed. The 25-year-old will attempt to successfully defend his title at the clay-court ATP Tour 250. After a first-round bye, Garin awaits the winner of the encounter between Renzo Olivo of Argentina and local wild card Alejandro Tabilo. Spanish veteran Albert Ramos-Vinolas is the second seed in Chile.