Abu Dhabi: The latest big names to join the line-up for the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) taking place on December 28-30 is 12-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and three-time major champion Stanislas Wawrinka.
The Serbian World No 7 has not played since being forced to pull out of his Wimbledon semi-final with Tomas Berdych due to an elbow injury.
He has had a stop-start 18 months and it will be a perfect test to see where he stands ahead of the new season.
“I’m extremely excited to return to Abu Dhabi for the fifth time and take part in the 10th Edition of the Championship. It is a huge honour to take part in such a special tournament,” said the 30-year-old, who became a father for the second time last month.
The 30-year-old, with 68 career titles will join Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Milos Raonic in the 10th edition of the tournament.
“The line-up is very strong as always and it will be the perfect way to make my comeback and begin the season,” added Djokovic, who has won the MWTC three times in succession from 2011 to 2013.
“Abu Dhabi is an amazing place and this is going to be a great event for all of the fans.”
In a previous interview, he had revealed what happened to him was more complex than a single word, although the elbow was the ‘biggest problem’. He could not train like he wanted and could not play with full intensity and had to adjust his serving motion.
Since then, Djokovic has been making time for physical training in both Serbia and Monte Carlo and will have coach Andre Agassi by his side for the season. Djokovic had brought Agassi into his team in May, before the French Open, and they worked together for two months.
Though Djokovic made a quarter-final exit in Paris and Wimbledon, he did win in between at Eastbourne, which was his first title in six months.
Wawrinka had also ended his 2017 season due to injury is looking to get going again with MWTC.
He will be making his fifth appearance.
“It is always a pleasure to kick the season off at the beautiful event in Abu Dhabi. The fans are amazing there and the draw is as strong as always with a lot of great players,” said Wawrinka, who has won the 2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open.
“My recovery is going well and I can’t wait to be back on court. I’m working hard together with my team and looking forward to being back.”
