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Home , 2005 Monte Carlo Masters, 2005 Qatar Open, 2011 Qatar Open, 2012 Qatar Open, Aslan Karatsev, Benjamin Becker

EXXONMOBIL OPEN: PREVIEW & DAY 1 MEDIA NOTES Monday, January 4, 2016

Khalifa International & Squash Complex, , Qatar | January 4-9, 2016 Draw: S-32, D-16 | Prize Money: $1,189,605 | Surface: Outdoor Hard

ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com www.qatartennis.org Martin Dagahs: [email protected] Twitter: @ATPWorldTour @QatarTennis Facebook: facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/qatartennis Press Room: +974 44409620

QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN TALKING POINTS

 TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: The Qatar ExxonMobil Open returns for the 24th consecutive year on the ATP World Tour, kicking the 2016 season off with a field that features 10-time champion and 14-time Grand Slam champion . The World No. 1 Djokovic has reached 15 consecutive finals (11-4) since falling to Ivo Karlovic in last year’s Doha quarter-finals. Nadal also ended 2015 strongly, posting a 17-5 record following the US Open.

Among the players challenging Djokovic and Nadal this week are sixth-ranked Tomas Berdych and seventh-ranked . Both men won multiple titles last fall: Berdych swept 15 sets at Shenzhen and Stockholm, while Ferrer triumphed at Kuala Lumpur and . Ferrer captured five championships overall in 2015, beginning with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Berdych in the Doha final.

A star-studded doubles draw also awaits fans in Doha, highlighted by top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, who ended 2015 at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings after winning the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Making their team debut in Doha are No. 2 seeds and , but Rojer and Tecau’s biggest test could come in the quarter- finals against Nadal and . Nadal is a four-time Doha doubles champion, winning in 2005 with , 2009 and 2011 with Marc Lopez, and 2015 with Juan Monaco.

 DAY 1 PREVIEW: ATP World Tour superstars Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will contest the first two matches on at the 2016 Qatar ExxonMobil Open. Nadal gets play underway in doubles alongside countryman Fernando Verdasco against a third Spanish left-hander, Albert Ramos-Viñolas, and Spanish-speaking Russian . Nadal is 17-2 in doubles at Doha and 6-2 on tour with Verdasco, including a win over US Open champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and at Montréal last summer. Following Nadal’s doubles match, Djokovic takes to the singles court for his first-round match versus German qualifier . Djokovic has never met Brown, who rose to fame with a four-set win over Nadal at Wimbledon in 2015. Also in singles action on Monday are No. 5 seed Feliciano Lopez and No. 7 seed Jeremy Chardy. Qatar ExxonMobil Open Day 1 – Monday, January 4, 2016 Page 2 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 SINGLES HONOR ROLL (since 2006)

YEAR CHAMPION RUNNER-UP SCORE 2015 David Ferrer Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 2014 Rafael Nadal Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2 2013 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 2012 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Gael Monfils 7-5, 6-3 2011 Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-4 2010 Nikolay Davydenko Rafael Nadal 0-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 2009 6-4, 6-2 2008 Andy Murray 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 2007 Ivan Ljubicic Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4 2006 Roger Federer Gael Monfils 6-3, 7-6(5) BOLD: Players in 2016 singles draw

 DOUBLES HONOR ROLL (since 2006)

YEAR CHAMPION RUNNER-UP 2015 Juan Monaco/Rafael Nadal / 2014 Tomas Berdych/Jan Hajek /Bruno Soares 2013 / Julian Knowle/Filip Polasek 2012 Filip Polasek/Lukas Rosol Christopher Kas/Philipp Kohlschreiber 2011 Marc Lopez/Rafael Nadal / 2010 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez/Albert Montañes Frantisek Cermak/Michal Mertinak 2009 Marc Lopez/Rafael Nadal /Nenad Zimonjic 2008 Philipp Kohlschreiber/David Skoch / 2007 /Nenad Zimonjic / 2006 Jonas Bjorkman/ / BOLD: Players in 2016 doubles draw Qatar ExxonMobil Open Day 1 – Monday, January 4, 2016 Page 3 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 WHO TO WATCH IN SINGLES

SEED PLAYER DOHA W-L BEST FINISH 1 Novak Djokovic 2-1 2015 Quarter-finalist 2 Rafael Nadal 19-6 2014 Champion 3 Tomas Berdych 4-2 2015 Runner-up 4 David Ferrer 10-4 2015 Champion 5 Feliciano Lopez 3-4 2005 Quarter-finalist 6 Andreas Seppi 7-7 2015 Semi-finalist 7 Jeremy Chardy 0-2 2009, 2013 Round of 32 8 0-1 2015 Round of 32

 WILD CARDS (3)  YOUNGEST Marsel Ilhan (TUR) Mubarak Shannan Zayid (QAT) – 20 years, 8 months (TUN) Mubarak Shannan Zayid (QAT)  OLDEST (GER) – 34 years, 6 months  QUALIFIERS (4) Benjamin Becker (GER)  TOP COUNTRY BREAKDOWN Dustin Brown (GER) (8), (4), Russia (3), (2), Kyle Edmund (GBR) (2), (2) (RUS)

 WHO TO WATCH IN DOUBLES

SEED TEAM BEST FINISH Rojer: 2016 Debut 1 Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau Tecau: 2016 Debut Murray: 2007 Semi-finalist 2 Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares Soares: 2014 Runner-up F. Lopez: 2005 Quarter-finalist 3 Feliciano Lopez/Marc Lopez M. Lopez: 2009, 2011 Champion Petzschner: 2009 Quarter-finalist 4 /Alexander Peya Peya: 2014 Runner-up

 EMIRATES ATP RANKING POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY

W F SF QF R16 R32 SINGLES RANKING POINTS 250 150 90 45 20 0 SINGLES PRIZE MONEY ($) $201,165 $105,940 $57,380 $32,700 $19,265 $11,415 DOUBLES RANKING POINTS 250 150 90 45 0 — DOUBLES PRIZE MONEY ($) $64,420 $33,860 $18,350 $10,500 $6,150 — Qatar ExxonMobil Open Day 1 – Monday, January 4, 2016 Page 4 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

DAY 1 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

CENTRE COURT

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [Q] Dustin Brown (GER) First Meeting

Djokovic 2015 FastFacts W (11): (d. Murray); ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d. Federer); ATP Masters 1000 Miami (d. Murray); ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo (d. Berdych); ATP Masters 1000 Rome (d. Federer); Wimbledon (d. Federer); US Open (d. Federer); Beijing (d. Nadal); ATP Masters 1000 (d. Tsonga); ATP Masters 1000 Paris (d. Murray); Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (d. Federer); F (4): Dubai (l. to Federer); Roland Garros (l. to Wawrinka); ATP Masters 1000 Montréal (l. to Murray); ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l. to Federer); QF: Doha (l. to Karlovic) 2015 W-L: 82-6 (59-5 on hard) 2015 Titles: 11 / Career Titles: 59 Date of Birth: May 22, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 1 (Career-High) Doha W-L (Best Result): 2-1 (2015 Quarter-finalist)

• In 2015, Serb ended year as World No. 1 in Emirates ATP Rankings for 4th time in 5 years. Ranked No. 1 for 79 straight weeks, longest stretch since Federer's 237 straight weeks in 2004-08 • Qualified for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for 9th consecutive year, winning 4th title in a row and 5th overall. Became 1st player to win title in 4 consecutive years • Captured career-high 11 titles and reached single-season record 15 straight finals to end year, most since Federer's 17 straight finals in 2005-06 • Won 8th, 9th and 10th Grand Slam singles titles at Australian Open (d. Murray), Wimbledon (d. Federer) and US Open (d. Federer) respectively. Fell short of calendar Grand Slam in Roland Garros final (l. to Wawrinka) • Became 3rd man to play in all 4 major finals in a single year during Open Era (also Laver in 1969 and Federer in 2006, 2007 and 2009) • Enjoyed career-high 29-set win streak during fall, highlighted by titles at Beijing and ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai • Also captured titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome and Paris, setting a single-season record with 6 ATP Masters 1000 championships and passing Federer for 2nd all-time with 26 (Nadal 27) • Became 1st men’s player to earn more than $15 million in prize money during a season, crushing previous record by finishing with $21,646,145 • Earned career-high 82 wins overall, including 31 vs. Top 10 players and win streaks of 28 and 23 matches • Has won more titles (31) than he's lost matches (26) on hard courts since 2011 • Competed in 44 straight Grand Slam events entering ’16. Has not retired from a match or conceded a walkover since ’11 ATP Masters 1000 Paris QF vs. Tsonga (shoulder)

Brown 2015 FastFacts QF (2): Doha (l. to Ferrer); Newport (l. to Karlovic) 2015 W-L: 10-16 (4-10 on hard) 2015 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: December 8, 1984 Emirates ATP Ranking: 118 Doha W-L (Best Result): 4-3 (2014, 2015 Quarter-finalist)

• In 2015, German finished in Top 200 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 7th straight season • Qualified and reached 3R at Wimbledon after upsetting 2-time champion No. 10 Nadal in 2R (l. to Troicki) • Also qualified at (l. to Bolelli in 1R) and (l. to Janowicz in 1R) • Fell to 0-8 in ATP World Tour QFs with losses at Doha (l. to No. 10 Ferrer) and Newport (l. to Karlovic) • Nearly knocked off No. 4 Wawrinka in Metz 2R, losing 46 63 76(4) • Twelve years after representing in , made German Davis Cup debut in 4-1 World Group Play-off victory over Dominican Republic (l. to Estrella Burgos) Qatar ExxonMobil Open Day 1 – Monday, January 4, 2016 Page 5 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Daniel Muñoz de la Nava (ESP) vs [5] Feliciano Lopez (ESP) First Meeting

Muñoz de la Nava 2015 FastFacts 2015 W-L: 0-0 2015 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: January 29, 1982 Emirates ATP Ranking: 75 (Career-High) Doha W-L (Best Result): 0-0 (2016 Main Draw Debut)

• In 2015, Spaniard finished season at career-high No. 75 -- his 1st time in year-end Top 100 of Emirates ATP Rankings • Broke into Top 100 on August 31 after reaching Manerbio, ITA Challenger final (l. to An. Kuznetsov) • Did not play a tour-level match all season • Last tour-level match came at 2014 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells as a qualifier (l. to Benneteau in 1R) • Last tour-level win came at 2013 Delray Beach as a qualifier (d. Harrison and Malisse, l. to Gulbis in QF) • Lost in qualifying at Doha, Australian Open, Dubai, , Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Hamburg • Posted 2nd-most wins on ATP Challenger Tour with 46-18 record and 3 titles in 7 finals: Napoli, ITA (d. Donati); , RUS (d. Albot) and Meknes, MAR (d. Carballes Baena) • Runner-up at ’15 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, falling to countryman Cervantes 76 in 3rd after holding 2 MPs. In RR, lost to Cervantes 75 in 3rd, then defeated Dustov and Lorenzi. Received w/o from Pella in SF (right leg muscle)

F. Lopez 2015 FastFacts F (2): Quito (l. to Estrella Burgos); Kuala Lumpur (l. to Ferrer); SF: Gstaad (l. to Thiem); QF (4): ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Murray); Houston (l. to Querrey); ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l. to Federer); US Open (l. to Djokovic) 2015 W-L: 32-26 (20-14 on hard) 2015 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: September 20, 1981 Emirates ATP Ranking: 17 Doha W-L (Best Result): 3-4 (2005 Quarter-finalist)

• In 2015, Spaniard finished in Top 20 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 3rd time, as well as 9th straight finish in Top 50 and 14th straight in Top 100 • Advanced to US Open QF for 1st time (d. No. 10 Raonic in 3R, l. to No. 1 Djokovic 76 in 4 sets) • Has played in 55 consecutive Grand Slam main draws -- 3rd in Open Era behind Federer’s 64, Ferreira's 56 • Fell to 4-9 in finals with runner-up finishes at Quito (l. to Estrella Burgos 7-6 in 3rd) and Kuala Lumpur (l. to No. 8 Ferrer) • Achieved career-high ranking of No. 12 on March 2 soon after Quito final • Reached Australian Open 4R (l. to No. 8 Raonic in 5 sets), matching best result in (also 2012 4R) • Advanced to QF of ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells (d. No. 5 Nishikori, l. to No. 4 Murray) and Cincinnati (d. No. 8 Nadal, l. to No. 3 Federer) • Upset in Roland Garros 1R (l. to Gabashvili) and Wimbledon 2R (l. to Basilashvili) • Entering ’16, owns 33 wins vs. Top 10 players despite never being in Top 10 (33-85)

[WC] Marsel Ilhan (TUR) vs Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) Ilhan Leads 1-0 15 Gstaad () Clay R32 Marsel Ilhan 6-1 6-2 Other Meetings: 12 Nottingham-2 CH (Great Britain) Grass R32 Andrey Kuznetsov 4-6 7-6(4) 6-4 13 Helsinki CH (Finland) Hard R16 Andrey Kuznetsov 7-5 7-6(2) 14 CH (Russia) Hard SF Marsel Ilhan 0-6 6-3 7-5

Ilhan 2015 FastFacts QF: Dubai (l. to Djokovic) 2015 W-L: 12-14 (8-6 on hard) 2015 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: June 11, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 114 Doha W-L (Best Result): 0-0 (2016 Main Draw Debut) Qatar ExxonMobil Open Day 1 – Monday, January 4, 2016 Page 6 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

• In 2015, Turk finished in Top 200 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 6th time in 7 years (all but 2012) • Reached 1st ATP World Tour QF at Dubai as a qualifier (d. No. 13 F. Lopez, l. to No. 1 Djokovic) • Also qualified at ATP Masters 1000 Rome, falling in 2R to No. 7 Nadal • Posted career-best 12 victories (previous-best 5 in 2010 and 2011) • Achieved career-high ranking of No. 77 on March 2 • Reached 2R of Wimbledon (d. Janowicz, l. to Anderson) and US Open (d. Stepanek, l. to Paire) • Lost to Wawrinka in 1R of Australian Open and Roland Garros • Posted 15-11 Challenger record, highlighted by final at Mersin, TUR (l. to Coppejans)

Kuznetsov 2015 FastFacts QF: Moscow (l. to Cilic) 2015 W-L: 10-12 (6-5 on hard) 2015 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: February 22, 1991 Emirates ATP Ranking: 79 Doha W-L (Best Result): 0-0 (2016 Main Draw Debut)

• In 2015, Russian earned career-high 10 wins and finished in Top 100 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 3rd time • Reached 2015 Moscow QF (l. to Cilic), ending 0-6 start at event (2009-14), but falling to 0-5 lifetime in ATP World Tour QFs • Lost to No. 7 Nadal in Roland Garros 3R, matching career-best showing at a Grand Slam (also 2014 Wimbledon and 2014 US Open 3R) • Reached 2R at Australian Open (l. to No. 1 Djokovic), Marseille (l. to Monfils), Barcelona (l. to Kohlschreiber) and Geneva (l. Delbonis) • Qualified at , Geneva and ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo and Shanghai • Posted 24-6 record on ATP Challenger Tour with back-to-back titles at Manerbio, ITA (d. Muñoz de la Nava) and Como, ITA (d. Brands) • Improved to 5-0 lifetime in Davis Cup with 2 wins over DEN (d. Pedersen and Nielsen)

COURT 1

[7] Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs [WC] Mubarak Shannan Zayid (QAT) First Meeting

[Q] Kyle Edmund (GBR) vs Martin Klizan (SVK) First Meeting

COURT 2

Marco Cecchinato (ITA) vs Damir Dzumhur (BIH) First ATP Meeting Other Meeting: 13 Croatia F1 (Croatia) Hard F Damir Dzumhur 6-2 7-5

Robin Haase (NED) vs [Q] Aslan Karatsev (RUS) First ATP Meeting Other Meeting: 15 Scheveningen CH () Clay R32 7-5 5-7 6-4