Stan Warwrinka, the defending Dubai Duty Free Tennis champion, was on cloud nine on the evening of February 27 as he swapped his racquet for a spin around the city.
But it wasn’t your traditional motor vehicle that caught his fancy, but a compact gyrocopter parked at the tarmac at Skydive Dubai.
Getting a bird’s eye view of Dubai on a sunny day, after the unusual rains in the city last week, was on top of his agenda.
Arriving in a casual T-shirt and shorts, it didn’t take the World Number 3 player long to get acquainted with the basics of what it takes to be up in the air.
Though he isn’t an adrenaline junkie, the Swiss national is always open to new experiences and seemed eager to make the most of his break from the gruelling tennis practice.
“It was great to see Dubai from the skies. It’s a different feeling when you are up in the air in that. The gyrocopter was small and easy to handle,” said Wawrinka, who was accompanied by an expert pilot, about his aviation adventure. While he swooped around, we also spotted him waving enthusiastically from the window of the pint-sized plane to the crew who was filming him.
However, it isn’t his first time at trying out something new in Dubai. Last year, he enjoyed the 558-metre zip line that dropped from the roof of a tower and sped across the Dubai Fountain.
“Dubai is such a great city even though it rained in the last few days… This is something fun and crazy and I love playing the tournament here,” said Wawrinka.
Go get yours
For tickets and schedule of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, go to dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com
