Monday, January 3, 2011

Roger's Roster: Qatar ExxonMobil Open (Jan. 3-8)

 Staying Afloat: Roger and Rafa kicked off the 2011 season by hitting balls on a court laid in Doha Bay.
Roger will officially begin his 2011 season in Doha at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. This tournament will be his only real 'match practice' before the start of the Australian Open. As he ended 2010 with such flourish, all eyes will be on him to see if he can keep up that scintillating form. Roger himself is expecting fireworks in the coming weeks: “It’s a special Australian Open coming up. Me being the defending champion, Rafa going for his fourth so obviously the focus is going to be on the two of us. Tennis is really going to be exciting down in Australia. But there can be someone else coming and breaking through, like [Andy] Murray, [Novak] Djokovic and I'm sure they will give everyone a run for their money. You never know you could have a new Grand Slam champion. That’s what is good and tough about tennis in such tournaments where you have just a knockout system. I have to start Doha from scratch. Rafa is there again so it’s not going to be easy to win that one. We will see how it goes in Doha and then we have enough time to rest and get ready for the Australian Open. I hope I get some wins in Doha to boost my confidence.”

Light-footed: Roger during the recently concluded Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi.
Commenting on his association with Paul Annacone, Roger remarked, “He is a great guy. We share a good work relationship. Obviously the key for me is spending a lot of time with him and travelling the world I need to get along well with my team and coach. That’s the case I have great harmony in my team. He has brought a few things to my game and I’m very happy about it.”

Let's hope that Roger plays well in Doha and is well prepared to defend his title in Melbourne! Cheers!

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