After a week of surprises at the Qatar Open, where just two Top-8 seeds progressed past the quarterfinals, the top players are looking to right the ship this week in the Dubai Tennis Championships, the draw for which was released here on Saturday.
Former World No.1 Iga Swiatek, the second seed, kept alive her chances of winning a fourth title in the Qatar Open, beating Maria Sakkari of Greece in straight sets in the second round of the event WTA Tour event here on Monday.
World No.1 Iga Swiatek extended her impressive Qatar Open winning streak by defeating No.14 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1, 6-4 in the Round of 16.
Britain's Andy Murray, who has been labelled as 'The Marathon Man' due to his epic exploits of late, roared back from a set down to beat Alexandre Muller of France to sail into the semifinals of Qatar Open, here.
World No.1 tennis player Iga Swiatek, who made a triumphant return to competition at the Qatar Open with a 6-0, 6-1 win over No.42 Danielle Collins of the USA, has paved her way into the semifinals after her quarterfinal opponent Belinda Bencic withdrew from the tournament due to fatigue.
The 34-year-old Wawrinka, a three-time major winner, is top seed in Doha which boasts a respectable $1.4 million prize fund.
Novak Djokovic has lost surprisingly to the world number 24, Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-3, 6-7 (8/6), 6-4 in the Qatar Open semifinal.
By contrast, Djokovic's opponent in the semi-final is yet to drop a set this week.
Novak Djokovic took just 55 minutes to claim his first win of 2019, brushing aside Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-2 in the Qatar Open first round on Tuesday.
Monfils, who had taken a wild card into the tournament, was returning from a four-month injury break himself.
