Dubai, United Arab Emirates) – Back at the top of the world rankings and now record holder As the longest serving professional tennis player ranked No. 1 for both men and women, Novak Djokovic makes his debut this Tuesday at the ATP 500 in Dubai. The Serb enters the court at noon (coming from Brasilia) to face the Czech qualified Tomas Machac, 22 years old and 130th in the standings, in an unprecedented confrontation on the circuit.

Djokovic is undefeated at the start of the season. In January, the 35-year-old Serb won the ATP 250 in Adelaide 1 as well as the Australian Open, achieving his tenth title in Melbourne and the 22nd Grand Slam of his career. He has 12 wins and no losses in 2023.

Those who go through the debut already know that they will face the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, 39th in the standings, who beat the Frenchman Constant Lestienne, 56th, by 6/4, 3/6 and 6/2. The Serbian won his only previous match against Griekspoor at US Open 2021.

Also on Monday, the tournament organization confirmed Andy Murray’s package. Coming from a difficult tournament in Doha, where he played 14 sets in five games and saved eight match points on the way to the final, the Briton justified his absence due to a hip injury. Murray makes way for lucky Russian Alexander Shevchenko, who challenges 5-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the final game of the round.

Aliassime, Medvedev and Melo also make their debuts
The main round of the court begins at 7 a.m. (Brasília time), with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime facing North American Maxime Cressy. Soon after, Daniil Medvedev tries to keep the momentum going. Champion in Doha and Rotterdam in recent weeks, the former leader of the ranking faces the lucky Italian loser Matteo Arnaldi.

The day will also be that of the Brazilian debut of Marcelo Melo, who plays alongside the German Alexander Zverev. They play on Court 3 at 10 a.m. against Frenchman Constant Lestienne and Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.