Dubai: The 14th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge has been tipped to be the best since the event was first launched in the late 1990s.
"Technically, we have the best draw in the 14 years that this competition has been held," Hani Al Khafief, tournament referee and ITF supervisor told Gulf News at the official press conference here yesterday.
"We have seen this event grow and this year we have eight of the top 100 players confirmed besides another three or four players who may not be ranked as per their capability on court."
The qualifying rounds of the tournament have already been played at the Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa. Four qualifiers will join in the main draw that starts this afternoon.
Seeds
Simona Halep of Romania, ranked No 53, is the top seed, while Anastasia Yakimova of Belarus is the seeded second.
Serbian Bojana Jovanovski and Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru are the third and fourth seeds respectively.
Other attractions outside the top 100 include Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn, recent winner of the ITF Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova, former Dubai winner Regina Kulikova and Oman's Fatma Al Nabhani, who has been carrying the flag on behalf of Gulf women for the past few years.
"We have an exciting quality of players and hopefully we can see some close matches during the course of the week," Mohammad Al Habtoor, Vice-Chairman and CEO of the Al Habtoor Group, said.
Al Khafief said: "Considering that there will be an additional holiday during the week, we hope residents come along and watch some good women's tennis."
Miss Tournament
The organisers have lined up a series of activities around the tournament including a fashion show in which the players will take part, with the title of ‘Miss Tournament' to be awarded.
Special tennis clinics for children will also be on offer, led by former ATP player Mario Ancic, who reached a career high No 7 on the men's tour.
"There will be something for everybody and we would urge people to come and attend," said Steven Dewick, recreation manager at Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa.
The doubles final will be held on December 2, coinciding with UAE National Day celebrations, with the singles showpiece played the following day.
