Abu Dhabi: Even before the fans at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex get a chance to watch world number one Novak Djokovic in action, the opening match of this year's Mubadala World Tennis Championship today will pit two great stars against each other.
World number five David Ferrer of Spain takes on Frenchman Jo Wilfried Tsonga who is ranked sixth and the two have played against each other just twice, each winning once.
Ranked almost together and playing for the first time against each other on a hard court is expected to provide fans here a great opener as both want to get into the groove ahead of the first Grand Slam, the Australian Open.
"It has been a good year for me as I came back into the top ten," said Tsonga, who also has the Olympics on his radar in the New Year.
"I have been working on a few aspects and the areas I am trying to improve include my serve and volley and going to the net more often and my movements on the court," he said.
Admitting that it was a tough task breaking into the top, Tsonga said he was keen to stay in the top ten and try and win a Grand Slam in 2012.
Rival Ferrer, who lost to Tsonga on the grass in the All England but defeated him on clay in Rome, is hoping to go one up on the Frenchman and book a semi-final clash against countryman Rafael Nadal.
"It's a great chance to play with the best players in the world. It's no different to playing an ATP tournament with the likes of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. Tsonga is going to be difficult and I know I will need to play my very best in order to beat him but the conditions in Abu Dhabi are perfect so I look forward to it," said Ferrer, who has been a Davis Cup star winning three titles for his country.
Meanwhile, tennis fans attending today's game have been invited by the organiser's to dress-up in national colours for the chance to win a trip to Wimbledon 2012.
