Federer looks to start year with first Abu Dhabi title

Dubai: The Mubadala World Tennis Championship may still be more than a week away, but former world No.1 Roger Federer has got down to business here to kickstart the 2012 season with a win.

Ricardas Berankis, a 21-year-old Lithuanian, is the "chosen one" as the hitting partner of the winner of 16 Grand Glam titles as they have been sweating it out on the courts of a city hotel.

A winner of the junior US Open crown in 2007, Berankis grabbed his share of the limelight in this year's Australian Open, where he reached the third round with impressive wins over Marinko Matosevic and David Nalbandian, before going down to David Ferrer in straight sets.

His best performance on the ATP World Tour to date came in the SAP Open, where Berankis reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champion Canadian Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-7.

Best finish

Federer, who has played in all three previous Abu Dhabi World Championships, had his best finish last year, when he lost in the final to Rafael Nadal.

This time around, he comes into the event on the back of a 17-match unbeaten run and after finishing the year in ominous form with a record-breaking sixth victory at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

"It was the strongest finish I've ever had in my career, which I'm very proud of. I'm already looking forward to the new season, which for me starts at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. I feel my game is in really good shape and the desire to train hard remains. Everything is in a good place and to continue the winning run in Abu Dhabi would be a good start to the new season," " Federer said.

"Each year the support I receive is amazing and appreciated. The fans in Abu Dhabi give me a great welcome and its part of the reason I come back. It would be nice to get an early win for the fans but also to see where my game is ahead of the Australian Open."