Once again there is a top class field for the Barclays Dubai Classic which starts tomorrow unsurprisingly in...... Dubai.
Of course the field would have been even stronger if the Fedex had been playing but he has pulled out due to a throat infection. His withdrawal leaves a big hole in the bottom half of the draw, it is a gap that we think can be filled by Marin Cilic. The Croatian has made a more than satisfactory start to the season, winning in India and bagging the home points in Zagreb. In between he made the semi-final in Melbourne. He was the first player to take a set off Murray and slightly ran out of stream afterwards, which isn't that surprising given the number of five setters he was involved in.
He is due to meet Murray in the semi-final and in the absence of Federer he would appear to have a relatively straight forward route to the last four. Murray would tag up against Youzhny in the quarter final but Cilic would be meeting a seeded player for the first time.
The bottom half of the draw looks like a tough school with Djokovic, Davydenko and Tsonga plus a couple of lively contenders who might cause an upset. Djokovic or Tsonga have to go before the semi-final so that will contract the market. Davydenko has the best route in the bottom half but he has slightly let down the puntinplay team recently.
It was a close call between Cilic and Murray but Cilic get the value nod at 7.5.
