Week in Preview: The return of Rafa, Djokovic, Medvedev and Raducanu; a WTA 1000 in Doha; a best-ever field in Acapulco

Tennis Channel Live: Novak Djokovic makes his tour return in Dubai

Tennis’ top players must be ready to shake off the pandemic limits for good, because they’re out in force a couple of weeks earlier than normal this year. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are all in action on the men’s side; virtually all of the Top 20 women are present and accounted for at the WTA 1000 in Dubai; and a couple of those who aren’t—Emma Raducanu and Madison Keys—are in Guadalajara.

These tournaments are already underway as I write this, so here’s a quick look at who’s playing where, and what we can expect as the 2022 season continues to pick up steam.

Dubai Duty Free Championships (ATP)

• Dubai, UAE
• $2949,665; ATP 500
• Hard court
• Draw is here

There are more ranking points on the line in Doha, and there’s a deeper field in Acapulco, but as far as this week’s newsworthy events go, we have to start in Dubai, where Djokovic will make his 2022 debut. With his continued resistance to being vaccinated, it could also end up being a rare appearance for him this season. Djokovic has put controversy behind him with brilliant play many times before, but he has never had to bounce back from a situation quite like what happened in Australia last month.

Still, Djokovic remains the No. 1 player in the world, and the favorite at a tournament he has won five times. Depending on where and when he plays in the coming weeks, this tournament could serve as a useful tune-up—not a cakewalk, but not a fully loaded field, either. Djokovic will start against Lorenzo Musetti, who led him two sets to love at Roland Garros last year. He could play Karen Khachanov or Alex de Minaur in the second round. The first seed he could face is Roberto Bautista Agut, who is coming off a title run in Doha. His semifinal opponent might be either Felix Auger-Aliassime or Denis Shapovalov. If he gets through that, and the seeds on the other side hold to form, Djokovic could be looking at a final against either Marseille champion Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner or Hubert Hurkacz.

First-round matches to watch:

• Djokovic vs. Musetti
• Khachanov vs. de Minaur
• Auger-Aliassime vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili
• Sinner vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
• Andy Murray vs. Christopher O’Connell

Qatar TotalEnergies Open (WTA)

• Doha, Qatar
• $2,331,698; WTA 1000
• Hard court
• Draw is here

Twice as many players, twice as many ranking points, a million and a half more in cash: this week’s WTA event in Doha will be like last week’s WTA event in Dubai, just writ a little larger. It still won’t include Ash Barty or Naomi Osaka, but it will have just about everyone else of note: Aryna Sabalenka, Barbora Krejcikova, Paula Badosa, Anett Kontaveit, Garbiñe Muguruza, Maria Sakkari, Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur are the Top 8 seeds. Among the unseeded are Simona Halep, Coco Gauff, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, Elina Svitolina, Elena Rybakina, Amanda Anisimova and last week’s finalists in Dubai, Jelena Ostapenko and Veronika Kudermetova.

What can we expect? The fact that Ostapenko and Kudermetova were the last two women standing in a fairly stacked draw in Dubai should let us know, if we didn’t know already, that title runs can come from just about anyone these days. Which isn’t a bad thing: It means that every match matters, because it could be the start of something big.

First-round match to watch: Gauff vs. Shelby Rogers

Abierto Mexicano Telcel (ATP)

• Acapulco, Mexico
• $1,832,890; ATP 500
• Hard court
• Draw is here

Should we start talking about a Sunshine Triple? Once upon a time, Acapulco was a dirtballer-centric event that came at the tail end of a lot of other dirtballer-centric events south of the U.S. border. But with a shift to hard courts, and a move up to the 500 level, the tournament has started to feel like the first leg of the North American spring hard-court series, which will continue at Indian Wells and Miami.

The fields at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel have grown steadily stronger, and this year’s may be the best yet. The fact that Nadal will return to the tour as the fourth seed should tell you all you need to know. The newly re-crowned Australian Open champ is behind Medvedev, Zverev and Tsitsipas, and ahead of Matteo Berrettini, Cam Norrie and an unseeded Carlos Alcaraz. All of them will be looking to get matches in on asphalt before the 1000s in Indian Wells and Miami commence next month.

First-round matches to watch:

• Medvedev vs. Benoit Paire
• Nadal vs. Reilly Opelka. Opelka is on a hot streak, but he’ll also be coming straight from Delray Beach, Fla., where he is playing a final today. Rafa leads their head-to-head 1-0, but they’ve never met on hard courts.
• Berrettini vs. Tommy Paul
• Norrie vs. Alcaraz
• Zverev vs. Jenson Brooksby

Abierto Akron Zapopan (WTA)

• Guadalajara, Mexico
• $239,477; WTA 250
• Hard court
• Draw is here

There are fewer players and ranking points, and a lot less prize money, on the line in Guadalajara than there is at the WTA event in Doha. But this was a welcoming location when the tour came here for the WTA Finals last fall. Fans will have at least one star player to welcome this time around: Emma Raducanu. The US Open champ will play Daria Gavrilova Saville in her first match since Melbourne. On the other side of the draw, No. 2 seed Madison Keys will try to keep the good vibes going after her semifinal run at the Australian Open.

Chile Dove Men+Care Open (ATP)

• Santiago, Chile
• $546,340; ATP 250
• Red clay
• Draw is here

While the rest of the tours move toward hard-court season, 28 players will keep sliding on clay in Santiago, as the South American Golden Swing winds down. Local hero Cristian Garin is the top seed. If nothing else, the Chile Dove Men+Care Open has to be in the conversation for the most unique, and least mellifluous, tournament name in the game.