Sunday, August 1, 2010

Roger Federer is hoping to get his Australian Open bid off to the best possible start with an ace showing at the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.

The World No.1 will be looking to get himself in good nick before his assault on Grand Slam No.16, in Melbourne, at the end of January, by taking on a
top-level line-up from December 31. And with Andy Murray missing this year, the Swiss Master is looking forward to his second appearance at Zayed Sports City. The Scot triumphed in the semi-final of the first edition last year and Federer is hoping to go all the way this time.

“I loved playing in Abu Dhabi last year for the first time and I was really disappointed to have lost in the semi-finals,” Federer said.

“The atmosphere in the stadium and the support was wonderful. I  truly love to go a step further this time round and win the title.”

But Federer will have an impressive field to overcome, with rival and world No.2 Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nikolay Davydenko, Robin Soderling and Stanislas Wawrinka all set to play in the UAE capital.

Meanwhile, Belgian players Xavier Malisse and Yanina Wickmayer will find out early in the New Year (January 7) if their year-long bans for missing drug tests are to be provisionally lifted.

Malisse and Wickmayer, the women’s US Open semi-finalist, were last month suspended by the Flemish Doping Tribunal (VDT) for failing to make themselves available for out-of competition testing.

But lawyers for the pair have asked for the bans to be suspended until the State Council has ruled on the validity of the ban.

The World Anti-doping Agency, however, has decided to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to demand tougher penalties against the pair.