Qatar ExxonMobil Open preview

Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Location: Doha, Qatar
Dates: January 5-11, 2009
Draw Size: 32
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $1,110,250; men’s singles champion: $183,000
2008 Singles Final: Andy Murray, GBR, def. Stanislas Wawrinka, SUI, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Official Web site: http://www.qataropen.org/

Top story lines:
1. Can Andy Murray, a five-time singles champion last year, start off his 2009 season with a second straight Doha title?
2. After a season in which he dropped to No. 2, will Roger Federer start his climb back to the top by winning a third Doha title?
3. Can World No. 1 Rafael Nadal start off where he left off in 2008 by opening the year with a title against a talented group of players?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. Fabrice Santoro (First meeting; Nadal became the first Spaniard to finish No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings; Nadal won eight titles including Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Masters Series events in Monte Carlo, Hamburg and Toronto, as well as winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics; Nadal won 82 matches in 2008, while winning over $6.6 million in tournament prize money; Santoro won the singles title in Newport for the second straight year, while becoming the oldest player in 2008 to win a title; Santoro was the oldest player to finish the year in the Top 100; Santoro is currently ranked No. 52)

Potential notable late round match:
No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 5 Gael Monfils, Quarterfinals
· Nadal leads 3-0; winning last fall on hard courts at the Masters Series Paris
· Nadal took over the No. 1 ranking from Roger Federer on August 18, 2008, which was helped by winning his fourth straight French Open title, as well as winning an epic five set thriller over Roger Federer the finals at Wimbledon
· Monfils reached the semifinals at the French Open last year
· Monfils is currently ranked at a career best No. 14
No. 3 Andy Murray vs. No. 7 Dmitry Tursunov, Quarterfinals
· Murray leads 5-0; with a 2-0 edge on hard courts
· Murray won five titles in 2008 and also reached the US Open finals
· Tursunov won titles last year in Sydney and Metz

Watch out for…
1. No. 5 Gael Monfils (Finalist in Vienna; semifinalist at Roland Garros, Nottingham and Bangkok; quarterfinalist at the Beijing Olympics and the Masters Series Madrid; had victories last year over Andy Roddick, Fernando Gonzalez, David Ferrer and twice over David Nalbandian; currently ranked at a career-high No. 14)
2. No. 6 Igor Andreev (Finalist in Gstaad and Umag; quarterfinalist in Basel, New Haven, Dubai, Buenos Aires and Masters Series events in Miami and Monte Carlo; won a career-high 43 matches last season; currently ranked No. 19)

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 1 Rafael Nadal