Nadal and Baghdatis to face off

Dubai: A mouthwatering first round clash between Rafael Nadal and Marcos Baghdatis will be the highlight of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open that gets under way at the Dubai Tennis Stadium tomorrow.

Defending champion Nadal was drawn to play the equally effervescent Baghdatis when the official draws were held at the Dubai Aviation Club yesterday.

"We are assured of the crowds coming in from the first round with match-ups like these," promised tournament director Salah Tahlak.

"In a way it will be sad that we will lose one of the two. But then this is the way the draw has been made.

"And if you consider this, the winner of that first round match can have the potential to go all the way to the final, if not win the title," Tahlak said.

Great player

Top seed Roger Federer was drawn to play Denmark's Kristian Pless in the first round, while third seed Russian Nikolai Davydenko will take on a qualifier in his first round meeting.

The draw sees Davydenko heading towards a potential semifinal clash against the top seeded Federer - who earlier this week got past Jimmy Connors's 25-year-old record of 160 consecutive weeks as the world number one player. "He has got a long way to go.

"Records come to him so naturally because he is such a great player," stated Tomas Berdych, who was the lone representative from the players.

Berdych is one of the few who has defeated the undisputed world number one player - at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. "But I have also lost to Roger four times during my career," Berdych stated.

Asked which of the two players he would prefer playing against, Berdych said: "I have defeated Nadal three times and lost four times to Roger.

"I would rather play against Nadal than face Roger," he said.