ABU DHABI: Former world number one Serena Williams will make a surprise comeback at the Mubadala exhibition event in Abu Dhabi next Saturday, as she gears up for her Australian Open title defence in January. Ostapenko broke through with a stunning French Open title, and the 20-year-old will take on Serena for the first time. The Mubadala event had already seen men's world number one Rafael Nadal and three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka withdraw. The six-strong men's field in Abu Dhabi does feature Serb Novak Djokovic, who will also be making his comeback. The 12-time Grand Slam champion has not played competitively since his quarter-final loss to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon because of an elbow injury.--AFP

Source: New Strait Times December 25, 2017 05:03 UTC