Tsitsipas to face Norrie in quarter-finals of Mubadala World Tennis Championship

Winner to play Alcaraz in the semi-finals while Rublev takes on Tiafoe in the second quarter-final

Stefanos Tsitsipas, right, and Cameron Norrie, left, will contest the first match at the 2022 Mubadala World Tennis Championship. AFP

Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on Cameron Norrie in the first match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship next month after the draw for the tournament was made on Thursday.

Comprising six male players and played over three days from December 16-18, the first MWTC quarter-final between the Greek world No 4 and British No 1 will be followed by the last-eight match between Russian defending champion Andrey Rublev and American US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe.

Friday's opening day will then conclude with the one-off women's match between Tunisian world No 2 Ons Jabeur and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Great Britain.

The winners of the two quarter-finals will advance to Saturday's semi-finals, where the top two seeds await. Norwegian world No 3 Casper Ruud will face either Tsitsipas or Norrie in the early semi-final, and Spanish world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz will then play Rublev or Tiafoe.

Those semi-final matches will be played after the fifth-place playoff, contested by the two losers from Friday's quarter-finals.

Saturday's third and final day will begin with the third-place playoff, before the final and trophy ceremony. This year's final will take place earlier than usual, at 3pm, so fans are able to watch the Qatar 2022 World Cup final the same evening.

“The draw of any championship is always an exciting moment as it gives the feeling the competition is nearing,” said John Lickrish, chief executive of Flash Entertainment, the tournament owner.

“As well as the women’s match, which is always a great spectacle, this year’s draw has also thrown up some highly intriguing ties, with Tsitsipas and Norrie going head-to-head with an equal win rate against one another, and Tiafoe facing Rublev in what is a re-run of the US Open quarter-final. Abu Dhabi is in for a treat.

"I’m really excited to watch this incredible generation of tennis stars in action across the three days of the Championship.”

Tickets for the 14th MWTC, which takes place at Zayed Sports City's International Tennis Centre, are from Dh95 for adults and Dh45 for children and can be purchased on the event’s website www.mubadalawtc.com.