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The Rise of Tennis in Dubai: A History of the ATP & WTA Tournaments

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Dubai, a city known for its futuristic skyline and luxury, has also cemented itself as a premier destination for world-class tennis. Since the early 1990s, the Dubai Tennis Championships—comprising both ATP and WTA tournaments—have grown into one of the most prestigious and lucrative events on the tour.

The Birth of the Dubai Tennis Championships

The tournament’s origins trace back to 1993, when the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships was launched as an ATP event. It was part of Dubai’s broader vision to establish itself as a global sports and tourism hub. The tournament’s inaugural edition was played at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre, with its intimate setting offering a unique atmosphere for both players and spectators.

The first ATP event in Dubai saw Czech star Karel Nováček emerge as the champion. Over the years, the tournament steadily gained prestige, attracting some of the biggest names in the sport. The introduction of a state-of-the-art 5,000-seat stadium in 1996 further boosted its reputation.

The Arrival of the WTA Tour

Following the success of the ATP tournament, the WTA event was added in 2001, making Dubai one of the few cities to host both men’s and women’s professional tennis in the same venue. The WTA tournament quickly became a staple on the women’s circuit, drawing top-ranked players like Venus and Serena Williams, Justine Henin, and later, Simona Halep.

Dubai’s commitment to promoting women’s tennis was evident in 2005 when it became the first event in the Middle East to offer equal prize money to both ATP and WTA players, setting a precedent for gender equality in the sport.

Legends and Historic Moments

The Dubai Tennis Championships have witnessed some of the greatest players in history leave their mark:

  • Roger Federer, a seven-time champion, dominated the tournament throughout the 2000s, thrilling fans with his grace and skill.
  • Novak Djokovic has also been a dominant force in Dubai, winning multiple titles and providing some epic battles.
  • Rafael Nadal, while not as frequent a participant, has also claimed victory on Dubai’s hard courts.
  • On the WTA side, Justine Henin was an early queen of Dubai, winning four titles between 2003 and 2007.
  • More recently, stars like Elena Rybakina, Iga Świątek, and Aryna Sabalenka have carried on the tradition of high-level competition.

Innovation and Prestige

Over the years, Dubai has continued to evolve as a top-tier tennis destination. The tournament is now classified as an ATP 500 event for men and a WTA 1000 event for women, placing it among the most important stops on the tour. Its luxurious setting, world-class hospitality, and fast-paced hard courts make it a favorite among players.

The combination of tradition and modernity has allowed the Dubai Tennis Championships to flourish, ensuring that the city remains a key player in the global tennis calendar. Whether it’s an epic final under the lights or an emerging star making their breakthrough, Dubai continues to be a stage where history is made.

Meet Novak Djokovic… And Have A Digital NFT To Remember It Forever At The World Tennis League In Dubai

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Tennis fans will have the opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind signed memorabilia, experience unprecedented event access and meet and greets with some of the biggest stars in tennis, including Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek, and have it all documented and preserved as a NFT via the Akshaya marketplace at the new World Tennis League this week in Dubai.

Akshaya, the world’s first unified NFT and Metaverse “Phygital” (physical and digital) marketplace, has partnered with the World Tennis League to introduce its “SportsVerse” where tennis fans will be able to purchase official World Tennis League (WTL) team jersey’s signed by team members along with a 3D digital NFT that is authenticated and certified and stored in blockchain. Through an experiential NFT for sale, fans will be able to have an opportunity to have meet and greets behind-the-scenes in the WTL team environment that includes photos, videos and autographs that is captured and saved as a 3D digital NFT.

All purchasing opportunities can be found at www.akshaya.io

“This is an exciting and very unique opportunity to take advantage of our physical, experiential and digital experiences offerings at the historic and inaugural World Tennis League in Dubai,” said Ganesh Raju, CEO of Akshaya. “Having an exclusive behind-the-scenes in-person meeting with some of the greatest tennis stars of all time is an unforgettable experience that will be forever preserved as an NFT. For those not in Dubai, having a physical and digital autographed collectible is your way to be a part of this historic World Tennis League event.”

The World Tennis League (WTL) is a first-year mixed-gender team event that will be played December 19-24 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. The event features four teams – Falcons, Eagles, Kites and Hawks – featuring 18 of the best ATP and WTA Tour players, including Djokovic and Swiatek, as well other top stars Nick Kyrgios, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Caroline Garcia, Elena Rybakina, Alexander Zverev, Paula Badosa among others.

Each match features men’s singles, women’s singles and mixed doubles two-set matches with a decisive match tiebreaker in a best-of-three series. The World Tennis League will not only showcase many of the best men and women players in the world, but will also feature some of the top music entertainers with post-match concerts featuring top global artists including Dutch DJ superstars, Tiësto and Armin Van Buuren.

Each team is as follows:

Eagles: Nick Kyrgios, Caroline Garcia, Rohan Bopanna, Bianca Andreescu, Andres Seppi

Falcons: Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka, Grigor Dimitrov, Paula Badosa

Hawks: Alexander Zverev, Elena Rybakina, Dominic Thiem, Anett Kontaveit

Kites: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Iga Swiatek, Holger Rune, Sania Mirza, Genie Bouchard

For more information on the World Tennis League, go to www.WorldTennisLeague.com

NFT, Metaverse and Blockchain Web3 Technologies have shaken up the industry by providing a fantastic avenue for content creators, artists, sports personalities and influencers through sales and royalties. In the last year, the NFT market size grew to be $41 billion and is estimated to grow to $80 billion by next year with the Metaverse to be over $1 trillion in the next two years.

About Akshaya.io:  
Akshaya.io is India’s first-ever platform that brings Metaverse, NFT, and Digital Twin together to enable users claim ownership of physical and digital assets with certified proof of authenticity. From those interested in dealing with unique collectibles to rare artifacts, Akshaya.io will be a healthy community of highly astute customers. Since its inception, Akshaya.io has created excitement among companies trading in jewelry, boutique furniture, artifacts, sports, entertainment, and other sectors, and is all set to sign many prominent brands, enterprises, and a few celebrities as partners. Akshaya.io will be the first ever platform to provide the best experience of physical and experiential shopping in the virtual world. This is the only platform which will enable customers to experience and own both digital and physical variants of any and every asset. Akshaya.io has to date invested USD 10 million, through internal accruals from founder and seed investors, to build a robust technology platform that is all set to provide a unique experience to its partners and customers. The money invested has gone in to develop the backend software and to strengthen Network across India. Currently, Akshaya.io has physical offices across 45 cities in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, and has developed strong connect with prospective partners. Partners will create or add their NFTs to Akshaya.io platform to be sold or traded.

Novak Djokovic World Tennis League track suit you can get personally autographed and as a NFT and have him personally give it to you in Dubai

In His Latter Years, Roger Federer Can Accept Losing Just As Much As Winning

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by Rajagopalan Rohinee

Since his comeback in 2017, after sitting out for the latter six months of the 2016 season with a knee injury, Roger Federer has been riding on the wave of unpredictability to the fullest. Not that it was not the case before the ill-fated 2016 season, but his professional timeline has come to be cleanly divided along the ever-in-vogue theme of before and after.

That Federer turned back time and continued to do that for much of 2017, and for extended portions in 2018, which included him adding a couple of more weeks to his already existing record as the world No. 1, then, extinguished the idea of the Swiss player being done for good on the ATP Tour. Alongside, it also left many wanting more from him in terms of his results – as if seeking a reassurance that the Federer of old, harking back to his peak in the early 2000s, had finally returned.

Reality, however, has been quite different from such labeling. For while, Federer did seem to control time at the start of 2017, it caught up with him as the months sped by. And across these months, the two have been engaged in the tussle that marked Federer’s career right up to the time his knee gave away.

What we now see when he takes to the courts is a tangible demonstration of him trying to wrestle time trying to reassert his say over an entity that answers to none. Ergo, the display of good days and bad days of play in matches.

Euphoria of him holding aloft his 100th title at the Dubai Open left behind any naysaying the Australian Open fourth-round loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas – who, incidentally was the same player who had ended his two-year run of dominance at Melbourne Park – but it only briefly covered the weaknesses in his game, which once again made themselves known at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, especially in the final.

The title in Dubai conveniently camouflaged the fact that it took Federer a couple of matches to settle in, in the tournament. It also tamped down on the certainty that the 37-year-old had started to miss a step or two, even though he more than made up for it with experience-filled subtlety and shrewdness. And while, Federer did well to make it to the Indian Wells final, this dissonance proved to be one time too much.

The aftermath of the result in Indian Wells has heightened the murmuration of dismay around the 20-time Slam champion. And though it has not yet risen to the level as seen before-2016, it is no less vehement than how it used to be then. This cacophony of scepticism growing louder, then, forms the crux of the matter at hand. As to Federer being held to such high standards which essentially omit the basic fact that he is human like others – prone to getting beaten and sidestepped by time – which include facing losses, as an athlete.

One aspect where Federer has made his peace with time can then be seen in how he puts his defeats in perspective. Where before, the champion in him scoffed at losses as if he were unable to bear that stain clotting his otherwise pristine scroll of wins, he now understands that defeats are the other side of victories and there is nothing wrong in accepting them as such. ‘

Federer’s statements in his post-final press conference in Indian Wells reiterated as much. “Maybe that’s why I’m okay with it…, because I felt like I’m actually playing, you know, good tennis. Like, in Australia, I wasn’t too down on myself because I feel like my game is there, my body is there.” He added, “I think when you feel that way, you know, you take it more, how do you say, positively? I don’t know how to explain, but it’s just not as dramatic. Whereas, when you’re hurt and things are difficult and, you know, that maybe those hurt more. I’m not sure.”

When seen from this context, Federer’s career has come to epitomise If’s verse that is well-known among the sport’s followers. And if, Roger Federer can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same, why cannot the world, too?

Roger Federer
Roger Federer

Jelena & Petra: Best Actresses

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Two of tennis’ biggest drama queens (one for her personality, the other for her game) struck gold over Hollywood’s biggest weekend.

There is something fitting about two of the WTA’s most dramatic personae triumphing on Oscar weekend. From Dubai to Bogota, spectators were treated to two comeback stories. One may have had a bigger budget, but both protagonists, Petra Kvitova and Jelena Jankovic, provided compelling drama throughout their title runs.
Amidst a star-studded cast of characters in Dubai (even without top seeds Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka) the plot focused on tragic heroine Kvitova. An active, if static competitor, the Czech starlet was faced with questions as to whether she could build upon or at least maintain the form she rediscovered in Doha en route to a three-set defeat to Williams in the semifinals.
Jankovic by contrast is a more passive participant in the sport. A gifted counterpuncher who once topped the world rankings, the Serb was playing in a small South American clay tournament rather than an event closer to home to avoid the ignominious prospect of playing qualifying at the latter. This week, the ostensibly washed-up glamour girl was simply looking to string matches together, something she could do in her sleep during her hey day, now a task with which she has struggled since winning the prestigious Indian Wells event in 2010.
It is a truth universally acknowledged in the tennis world that, when Kvitova is playing her “A” game (even perhaps her “B+” game), she is among the fiercest competitors in the sport. Her hyper-aggressive style took her to great heights in 2011, including a Wimbledon crown and a Year-End Championships title in Istanbul. But Kvitova has been criticized in the last 18 months for her propensity to go off the rails. But as the Middle Eastern fortnight came to a close, the Czech’s game was in full effect, which helped her take out three top 10 opponents, including a net-rushing Sara Errani in the final. As flawless, positively cinematic as she seemed for most of the week, Kvitova still treated fans to some of her trademark drama with a sudden dip in form just shy of the finish line. The tireless Errani sensed her opportunity and switched tactics as she took the match to a decisive set. Somehow, Kvitova turned the match around right when she needed to as the final set got underway. As her “Pojd!”s grew louder, it became apparent how much the win meant to Kvitova, who closed in style and nabbed her first title of 2013.
As for Jankovic, the win in Bogota had more of an “indie” feel rather than a mainstream success. In a field far more reminiscent of an ITF Challenger than a WTA International, JJ only faced one player ranked in the top 100 en route to the final, dropping two sets along the way. In the title match, she faced clay court specialist Paula Ormaaechea, who had been ranked in the top 100 as recently as a month ago and took a set from Venus Williams at last year’s French Open. The Serb had lost her last five finals, which gave this match a “now or never” feel, one last chance for the aging veteran to turn around a spiraling career. By the scoreboard, Jankovic’s victory over Ormaechea was more straightforward than Kvitova’s in Dubai, but it lacked the Czech’s authoritative punch. Playing better defense than she had in the last year, Jankovic relied more on errors from her Argentine opponent than her own stellar play. The week wasn’t pretty from Jankovic, nor were the wins particularly impressive. Yet for the first time in what feels like forever, Jelena Jankovic won five complete, consecutive matches. She was far from her best, but wasn’t this kind of “against all odds” consistency the very thing that made her so maddening only few years ago?
The “match play versus confidence” debate is tennis’ equivalent to the chicken and the egg, but after playing week in, week out in search of wins (and the confidence that comes with them), the Academy finally recognized two of the hardest working women in tennis, and both Jankovic and Kvitova are starting to get a little of both.

Roddick Lets Racquet Talk For Him

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How long has it been since Andy Roddick’s name was mentioned as a serious challenger to reigning heavyweight tennis champ Roger Federer? With young guns Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on the scene, Roddick has quietly slipped into the background of men’s tennis as a perennial top ten player who can’t quite compete with today’s versatile, all-court players. And yet looking at Roddick’s record over the past five years, he has been one of the most consistent players on tour, but still there is a lack of respect from media and tennis fans alike that such a record would normally command.

Andy Roddick 1

Looking at his Grand Slam record, Andy Roddick hasn’t exactly lit the record books since his professional tennis debut in 2000. The US Open title in 2003 is his lone Grand Slam title. That puts him in the same company as Thomas Johansson, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Goran Ivanisevic. All one hit wonders. I’m not trying to say that Roddick is on par with these players, or that he won’t at some point win another slam. Surely if it were not for Roger Federer, Roddick would own a couple of Wimbledon titles and another US Open as well. How many players has Federer denied reaching greater heights?
Roddick’s record over the past five years grants him the status as one of the best players of his generation. Looking at the following win/loss statistics, it is hard to argue with that statement. His Slam record other than his one win, includes 3 finals, 4 semi finals, and 4 quarter final appearances. He has also qualified in the season ending Masters tournament each year during that span.
2003: 69-16
2004: 63-14
2005: 56-15
2006: 42-15
2007: 46-14
His wins have may have diminished over the years, but he is playing less tournaments than he used to. More importantly, he has had to deal with the growing threat of an emerging group of younger tennis players who have risen to the top of the sport. His steady play has been overshadowed by the recent emergence of Nadal (3 grand slams, age 21) and Djokovic (1 grand slam, age 20). Sometimes, he even gets upstaged by whichever player has had the most recent momentary surge, such as Jo-Wilfred Tsonga at this year’s Australian Open.
This past week in Dubai, Roddick certainly reclaimed the spotlight. Not only did he hold serve the entire tournament, but he also successfully defeated both Nadal and Djokovic which must have felt incredibly satisfying. Both were straight set victories leaving no doubt that Roddick was in control of the match. He had never beaten Djokovic, and had not beaten Nadal since 2004 when Nadal was still a kid. Despite amicably parting ways with coach Jimmy Connors the previous week, he has made it known that he is ready to contend for a Grand Slam again and will be looking to build on these victories at the upcoming Masters Series hard court events in the US. After years of everyone asking what’s wrong with Andy Roddick, it’s nice to pause for a moment and examine what’s right.

Ask Bill – Bill Mountford

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There was speculation that some unseeded entrants in last week’s ATP event in Dubai received appearance fees in excess of US $1 million. Considering that eight of the world’s top ten played the tournament, the total purse (combining appearance fees and prize money) was likely greater than any of the ATP Masters Series events.
The worst example of why things are out of whack between Dubai and the rest of the tour occurred two years ago. In Andre Agassi’s final season, while he was looking to minimize travel, he opted to fly half-way around the world to Dubai in lieu of playing the Tennis Channel Open in his hometown of Las Vegas. Of course he was offered an appearance fee that even he could not refuse. By the way, in 2007 Agassi purchased tickets to attend matches at the Darling Tennis Center. That act showed a lot about Agassi’s character, or it was his penance. Regardless, there are not too many people “in” tennis who opt to pay for tickets when all-access credentials are readily available.
Congratulations to Sam Querrey, who won his first ATP title in Las Vegas. Too young to legally enjoy a celebratory beer, Querrey looks like a sure-fire future Davis Cupper. Forecasting future champions is always risky business, and Sam Querrey is a prime example. The first international junior tournament that he played was at the 2004 US Open (where he extended that year’s champion, Andy Murray, to three sets in the quarterfinals). The Californian was only able to enter this event as a wildcard, based on his winning the Boys’ 16 and under Nationals in Kalamazoo, MI (as a third-year 16s, by the way). He was hardly on the experts’ radar screen at that time, but rather just another good American junior who appeared primed for college tennis.
In Andy Murray’s second round match in Dubai, he let fly several clearly audible obscenities. I have a soft spot for Andy, because he is my son’s favorite player and I love his competitive spirit. But it appears that the point penalty system, which was put in place a few decades ago to essentially reign in John McEnroe, has been relaxed considerably. If these same rules existed back in 1990, then Johnny Mac would have won his eighth major at that year’s Australian Open instead of being unceremoniously defaulted.
The week following Andy Roddick’s victory in San Jose, Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated criticized the popular American for some unseemly, and certainly unsportsmanlike, behavior. There was a marked improvement in the way Roddick carried himself in Dubai. I suspect that a member of the Roddick team – and perhaps Andy himself – read this SI.com article. I feel Wertheim is comfortably growing into the position that the late, great Gene Scott once held: the conscience of tennis. There was nothing unfair about the opinions he shared. It was nice to see Andy enjoy his best victory in a few years, and behave honorably. In fact, commentator David Mercer referred to his semifinal win over Novak Djokovic to be “the highest quality in sport and sportsmanship.”
I watched 50,000 Balls, an interesting documentary about the lives of four top-ranking 12 and under American players from the summer of 2006. In Hoop Dreams fashion, it will be fascinating to see the sequel 500,000 Balls when these boys reach the 18s! Hopefully, a prominent Film Festival will show the project.
Serena Williams edged ahead of big sister Venus in their career head-to-head record (8-7) with a third set tiebreak win in the semifinals of Bangalore, India on her way to her 29th career title. This match could have been a preview of the 2008 Olympic Games gold medal match for women’s singles.
Congratulations to Wayne Bryan for being named the 2008 Professional Tennis Registry’s Professional of the Year. Wayne reminds me of the Grateful Dead. As was frequently said about this legendary band, Wayne is not only the best in the world at what he does, he is the only one in the world who does what he does. Every coach, and every parent for that matter, ought to have a copy of his book The Formula: Raising Your Child to be a Champion in Athletics, Arts, and Academics.
Joel Drucker wrote a nice piece on Wayne’s boys, Bob and Mike Bryan, who continue battling to make professional doubles relevant. The Brothers are relentlessly nice young men, and a credit to the tennis profession.
Monica Seles has announced her retirement, and she is a shoo-in for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. A player must be inactive on the main tour for five years to be eligible for induction. Well, Seles’s last professional match was played in 2003 during Roland Garros. While the class of 2008 has already been announced, her retirement announcement gives our sport the opportunity to do right by one of the greatest champions of all-time by fast-tracking her induction.
The buzz that the Federer-Sampras exhibition created was wonderful for our sport. “Cheap” tickets were scalped for over $1,000. George Vecsey of the New York Times wrote a wistful article previewing this match and Harvey Araton, also from the NY Times, wrote an interesting post-match commentary. In previous eras, these cross-generational challenge matches were common. Bill Tilden played Ellsworth Vines, Vines played Don Budge, Budge played Bobby Riggs, Riggs played Jack Kramer, Kramer played Pancho Gonzalez, Gonzalez played Rod Laver, Laver played Jimmy Connors, etc. Before tennis went “open” in 1968, the only (and the best) way champions had to earn money was through playing in exhibitions against previous champions.
Getting psyched up to play against Roger Federer in a sold out Madison Square Garden is more manageable for the 36-year-old Sampras then the prospect of grinding out Tour matches (or even of having to win seven matches in 13 days at Wimbledon). It is times like this when I really miss the New York sports talk radio stations!
Roger Federer’s less than gracious post-match comments about Andy Murray were likely taken out of context, but his follow up comments that Murray is more talented than Novak Djokovic seemed really out of character. Rafael Nadal disturbs Federer, and John Yandell wrote fascinating articles about this topic on www.TennisPlayer.net, but Djokovic apparently really gets under Federer’s skin. Last week, the Serb opined that he expected Murray to win and that Federer is essentially losing his aura of invincibility. Hmmm…
The announcement that Roger Federer was sick with mononucleosis must have surprised Pete Sampras, who holds Federer in the highest regard. Pistol Pete won his seventh Wimbledon title on a broken foot and his fifth US Open title with stomach ulcers. Sampras has always talked about how he admires the way Federer carries himself, and these champions obviously share unique experiences. Here’s hoping that they grab a beer together and discuss the time-honored Aussie code that both men respect: If you’re fit, then you take the court; if you take the court, then it means you’re fit.
There was a great trivia question a few years ago: Who was the last man to win a tour-level event while using a wood racquet? Hint: he was the only player to beat Mats Wilander in a major back in 1988. Well, here is a modern era trivia question: Who was the last man to win a tour-level title WITHOUT using polyester strings? Polyester strings have had as great an impact on the way tennis is played professionally as larger head-size, graphite racquets had 25 years ago.
I am looking forward to watching the Indian Wells coverage on EuroSport next week. Please feel welcome to send questions, comments, criticisms, requests, and jokes each week.

Consistency, fatigue or something more?

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It’s becoming a regular pattern, and – for now at least – a small crisis for Andy Murray and his camp: a fine tournament win followed by a weak first round loss to a journeyman.
Last week’s display in Marseille was typical of the Scot. He had some gritty, and at times awkward, wins (e.g.., over Stanislas Wawrinka and Nicolas Mahut ) and some dominant displays (Jesse Huta Galung and a recovering Mario Ancic in the final). Of course his triumph was aided by the early exits of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the disappointing Richard Gasquet, and tennis’s new darling Novak Djokovic. However, such luck is commonplace in today’s game, and Murray’s second title of the year indicated a prosperous 2008 was to come.
Fresh off his return to the top ten and surely brimming with confidence, Murray then joined Marcos Baghdatis in exiting the first round of Rotterdam. This time he lost tamely to local wildcard Robin Hasse. Murray insisted fatigue was not a factor: “I wasn’t tired physically or mentally, I felt decent,” but even after beefing up somewhat since his gangly early years, Murray still has a lot of room to improve his physical condition, which would help his stamina.

Andy Murray Photo 1

Instead, Britain’s number one used a rather tired excuse that the court and balls were different and hard to get used to. Frankly, this excuse never really holds much weight. These players are professionals and the time they get to practice on such courts should surely eradicate any issues they have with the different surfaces from week to week.
Perhaps his dismissive view of the loss coupled with his recent title win suggests that priorities lie predominantly with the more glamorous, and rewarding, trio of upcoming tournaments: “This is just one of those matches you can afford in tournaments like this…now I will have some days off before I start preparing for Dubai and the Indian Wells and Miami stretch. It still has been a good start of the year.”
The above comment shows a still-young attitude towards the game that may well change as he matures. Either way, with two tournament wins and a return to the top ten, it has indeed been a fine start to Murray’s third full year on the ATP circuit.