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| Exhibition | ||
| Location | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
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| Venue | Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex | |
| Surface | Hard | |
| Draw | 6S | |
| Prize Money | US$250,000 | |
| Website | [1] | |
The World Tennis Championship (also known as the Mubadala World Tennis Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a singles-only, professional tennis exhibition tournament, played on outdoor hard courts. It has been held annually in January since 2009 at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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In November 2008, sponsor companies Flash and Capitala announced with IMG their partnership to create a new tennis exhibition for the beginning of the season, to take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The event, first named Capitala World Tennis Championship, was conceived to promote the sport in the region, creating another world class tennis event in the Middle East alongside the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Dubai Tennis Championships, already taking place in the UAE, the ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open and the WTA Qatar Total Open, taking place in Doha, Qatar, and the WTA Tour Championships, also set in Doha from 2008 to 2010. The six-players, three-days exhibition, with a winner-takes-all prize money of 250,000US$, preceded by weeks of tennis-themed activities in the region, including an amateur Community Cup tournament in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, was created to take place early in the season, before the start of the actual tour events, as a warm-up exhibition for the top players, similar to the AAMI Classic in Melbourne. [1]
The inaugural Capitala World Tennis Championship took place from January 1 to January 3, 2009, with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick and James Blake taking part.[1] Murray won the event, defeating Blake, Federer, and then-World No. 1 Nadal in the final.[2]
As of October 2009, Federer, Nadal and Davydenko announced they would return for the 2010 edition, with Stanislas Wawrinka, David Ferrer and Robin Söderling completing the field. Nadal went one further this time, defeating compatriot Ferrer in the semi-finals and Söderling in the final without losing a set. Federer won third place with victory over Ferrer.
For the 2011 edition of the tournament, Nadal, Federer and Söderling returned with Tomáš Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marcos Baghdatis completing the six-man line-up. Nadal defended the title with a hard-fought victory over Federer after they respectively beat Berdych and Söderling in the semi-finals.
The 2012 edition (held on December 29-31, 2011) featured Nadal, Federer, Ferrer, Tsonga, Novak Djokovic and Gaël Monfils. Djokovic won the title by beating Monfils and Federer before defeating Ferrer in the final. In the battle for third place, Nadal triumphed over Federer.
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 (Dec.) | Novak Djokovic | David Ferrer | 6–2, 6–1 |
| 2011 (Jan.) | Rafael Nadal | Roger Federer | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–3) |
| 2010 | Rafael Nadal | Robin Söderling | 7–6(7–3), 7–5 |
| 2009 | Andy Murray | Rafael Nadal | 6–4, 5–7, 6–3 |
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