dubai duty free Tennis Championships just revealed its main draw matches. The upper half of the board features both Roger Federer and Andy Murray and they can cross their path in the semis. For both players this will be the first appearance since the Australian Open. While Murray will have the chance to prove that he's not the world no. 1 by accident, for Roger Federer the stake is not that high. His tremendous success at the Australian Open where he clinched the 18th Grand Slam of his career weights enough.
Federer's projected trajectory
The 35-years-old Swiss player is set to make a first impression in Dubai by facing Benoit Paire from France.
Paire, 27, is ranked as the world no. 47 due to some poor results lately. His latest appearance on the tennis court was in Rotterdam where he was defeated by Marin Cilic (7 ATP) after being a set up against the Croatian. In head to head stats, Federer leads Paire by 3-0, but their last meeting was far in the past back in 2013.
If he gets past Benoit Paire, Federer will have an easier schedule compared to what happened in Melbourne. In his quarter, Lucas Pouille is the only one capable of producing some distress. Even so, the young French player is yet to confirm his potential. Andy Murray is set to play against Malek Jaziri (47 ATP).
Federer vs Murray
With the draw being out for public scrutiny, a semifinal opposing Federer and Murray is likely to happen.
In Melbourne, back in January, they were on a collision course for the quarterfinals but Murray ended up being sent off by Mischa Zverev in the 4th round. While Federer flourished in 2017, Murray is yet to confirm his position as the world no. 1 in the ATP ranking.
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships has its 25th anniversary this year.
The other day, Federer and Murray honored this achievement by staging an exhibition event of beach tennis. It also may be a preview of one of the upcoming semifinals in Dubai. Overall, in head to head stats, Federer leads Murray by 14-11 having their last clash back in the summer of 2015 in Cincinnati semis where Federer went all the way winning the title.
