Organisers of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Tuesday announced three more additions to this year's tournament.
World No 7 and French Open finalist, Dominic Thiem, Australian Open semi-finalist Hyeon Chung and winner of three ATP World Tour titles, Karen Khachanov, will join 14-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic, defending MWTC champion Kevin Anderson and seven-time major winner Venus Williams at the December 27-29 exhibition event.
Thiem, the 25-year-old Austrian who made his Abu Dhabi debut in 2017, reached his first grand slam final in 2018, losing to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final in May.
Thiem, the only player to defeat Nadal on clay since Djokovic in 2016, said: “I can’t wait to return to Abu Dhabi this year. I especially enjoyed being involved with the kid’s clinics last year which was such a great feeling. I’m really looking forward to sharing my experiences with them again and playing in the Championship will help me get back into rhythm for the 2019 season.”
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South Korean Chung, who upset six-time Australian Open champion Djokovic on his run to the last four in Melbourne in January, said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be coming to Abu Dhabi and to play against some of the biggest players in the world. This will be a real test of my game and will help me immensely for the 2019 season. I look forward to an exciting tournament and meeting the wonderful people of the UAE.”
Khachanov, 22, will arrive in the capital on the back of an impressive year. The Russian picked up three ATP World Tour titles in 2018 including the recently-concluded Kremlin Cup, where he beat Adrian Mannarino in the final 6-2, 6-2 in just 55 minutes.
“Playing at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship is a dream come true," said Khachanov, who will be making his debut at the three-day tournament held at the International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi. "I am really proud to be selected amongst such a world-class line-up and am looking forward to playing against some of the best players on the circuit.”
John Lickrish, chief executive of Flash Entertainment, said: “Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung and Karen Khachanov represent the next-generation of players and we are absolutely thrilled to have them play in Abu Dhabi. These talented young players are certainly going to mix things up over the three days – and we can’t wait to see them compete in just over a few months."
