Former world number one Andy Murray will take on Roberto Bautista Agut in a one-set exhibition match at Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2017 in Abu Dhabi on Friday, December 29.
Murray, who has not played since his quarter-final exit at Wimbledon earlier this year, replaced Novak Djokovic, who pulled out of the tournament at the eleventh hour, citing an elbow problem.
"I am terribly disappointed that I am forced to withdraw from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Unfortunately, in the past few days I started to feel pain in the elbow and after several tests, my medical team has advised me not to risk anything, to withdraw from the tournament and to immediately continue with the therapies," Djokovic said, according to an official statement.
Djokovic was expected to make his much-anticipated comeback on Friday in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Australian Open, starting January 15, 2018. The Serb was ruled out of action for nearly six months after he underwent a surgery to fix issues with his elbow.
Meanwhile, Murray, who slipped from number one to number 16 in 2017, was scheduled for a comeback at the Brisbane International, starting December 31.
As it turns out, Murray will now be in action sooner than expected. Notably, there were doubts over his Australian Open participation as he reportedly had some issues with his recovery from a hip injury that trimmed his 2017 season.
It will be interesting to see how Murray goes about his job, especially after parting ways with coach Ivan Lendl.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The exhibition match between Murray and Bautista Agut will start at 7pm local time, 8:30pm IST, 3pm GMT
Live streaming and TV coverage
India: No coverage
UK: TV: Eurosport 2; Live streaming: Sky Go
Live updates will be available on the tournament's official Twitter page.
