World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime withdraws from Dubai Tennis Championships with back injury

The World number nine Canadian is at a career-high ranking currently. Earlier this month, the 21-year-old secured his maiden ATP Tour triumph in Rotterdam.

On Sunday, Auger-Aliassime also played in the final of Open 13 Provence in Marseille where he was defeated by Andrey Rublev. 

The Russian defeated Auger-Aliassime by 7-5, 7-6(4) to lift his first ATP Tour trophy since March 2021. 

Auger-Aliassime was seeded third in Dubai and was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Alexei Popyrin of Australia. 

The main attraction in Dubai will be Novak Djokovic who will kick off his 2022 campaign on Monday. 

The world number one and five-time Dubai champion Djokovic will clash against tournament wild card Lorenzo Musetti, who will be hoping to catch his opponent cold after the 20-time Grand Slam winner takes to the courts for the first time since leading Serbia to the semi-finals of the Davis Cup in November.