Abu Dhabi\u2019s Mubadala World Tennis Championship has firmly established itself as a welcome starting point for the season.
\nSince January 2009\u2019s opening event at Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex, a host of superstars. \u2013 including Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Roger Federer \u2013 have competed for successes. Unsurprisingly, a series of epic showdowns have taken place in the 14 men\u2019s editions and five women\u2019s editions.
\nHere are three of the best:
\n2011 Mubadala World Tennis Championship (January)
\nRafael Nadal beat Roger Federer 7\u20136(7\u20134), 7\u20136(7\u20133)
\nAbu Dhabi got a taste of the greatest rivalry the men\u2019s game has ever witnessed.
\nNadal and Federer entered 2011 as the top two in the world, while both had been sweeping up Grand Slams for fun. The final which followed between them in the UAE capital lives long in the memory.
\nBoth epic sets went to tie-breaks. Both were settled by the narrow margins of 7-4, 7-3.
\nIt would be Nadal who\u2019d prevail, starting a season highlighted by a sixth French Open success.
\n2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championship
\nAndrey Rublev beat Andy Murray 6\u20134, 7\u20136(7\u20132)
\nA fairytale victory was denied two years ago, in Abu Dhabi.
\n2009 and 2015 champion Andy Murray came into December 2021\u2019s event on the back of serious injuries and major surgeries. His chronic hip problem was expected to put paid to any illusions of victory for 2022.
\nBut this doomsday scenario was, almost, averted.
\nMurray defeated fellow Brit Dan Evans 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals and downed old-rival Nadal 6-3, 7-5 in the last-four. Andrey Rublev awaited in the final.
\nRussia\u2019s defending champion proved too strong, prevailing within two sets. But the fight showcased by Murray will not be forgotten.
\n2018 Mubadala World Tennis Championship
\nVenus Williams beat Serena Williams 4\u20136, 6\u20133, [10\u20138]
\nIt was the exhibition line-up everyone at Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex wanted.
\nThe iconic Williams sisters went into battle in the one-off clash, with the elder Venus showing the younger Serena she still had it.
\nThey, first, exchanged sets in front of a joyous crowd, pushing the contest into a super tie-break.
\nVenus would emerge victorious from that engrossing stanza against her 23-time Grand Slam-winning sibling, prevailing 10-8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Abu Dhabi\u2019s Mubadala World Tennis Championship has firmly established itself as a welcome starting point for the season.
\nSince January 2009\u2019s opening event at Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex, a host of superstars. \u2013 including Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Roger Federer \u2013 have competed for successes. Unsurprisingly, a series of epic showdowns have taken place in the 14 men\u2019s editions and five women\u2019s editions.
\nHere are three of the best:
\n2011 Mubadala World Tennis Championship (January)
\nRafael Nadal beat Roger Federer 7\u20136(7\u20134), 7\u20136(7\u20133)
\nAbu Dhabi got a taste of the greatest rivalry the men\u2019s game has ever witnessed.
\nNadal and Federer entered 2011 as the top two in the world, while both had been sweeping up Grand Slams for fun. The final which followed between them in the UAE capital lives long in the memory.
\nBoth epic sets went to tie-breaks. Both were settled by the narrow margins of 7-4, 7-3.
\nIt would be Nadal who\u2019d prevail, starting a season highlighted by a sixth French Open success.
\n2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championship
\nAndrey Rublev beat Andy Murray 6\u20134, 7\u20136(7\u20132)
\nA fairytale victory was denied two years ago, in Abu Dhabi.
\n2009 and 2015 champion Andy Murray came into December 2021\u2019s event on the back of serious injuries and major surgeries. His chronic hip problem was expected to put paid to any illusions of victory for 2022.
\nBut this doomsday scenario was, almost, averted.
\nMurray defeated fellow Brit Dan Evans 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals and downed old-rival Nadal 6-3, 7-5 in the last-four. Andrey Rublev awaited in the final.
\nRussia\u2019s defending champion proved too strong, prevailing within two sets. But the fight showcased by Murray will not be forgotten.
\n2018 Mubadala World Tennis Championship
\nVenus Williams beat Serena Williams 4\u20136, 6\u20133, [10\u20138]
\nIt was the exhibition line-up everyone at Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex wanted.
\nThe iconic Williams sisters went into battle in the one-off clash, with the elder Venus showing the younger Serena she still had it.
\nThey, first, exchanged sets in front of a joyous crowd, pushing the contest into a super tie-break.
\nVenus would emerge victorious from that engrossing stanza against her 23-time Grand Slam-winning sibling, prevailing 10-8.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=290648"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290649,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290648\/revisions\/290649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=290648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=290648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=290648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}