Andy Murray will face Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri when he returns to action in Dubai next week.
The world number one has not played since his shock fourth-round defeat to Mischa Zverev at the Australian Open but after five weeks off will compete at the Dubai Duty Free Championships where a strong field will be in attendance.
Jaziri is ranked 47th in the world and has never faced Murray before.
Australian Open champion Roger Federer is also back to play for the first time since his Melbourne success – he’ll open against France’s Benoit Paire – while US Open king Stan Wawrinka also plays.
Federer will be seeking a record eighth title at the tournament.
Murray, who made the final in 2012 but has never won the Dubai title, is seeded to face Federer in the semis and Wawrinka, who is the second seed, in the final.
Awaiting the winner of Murray-Jaziri will be Viktor Troicki or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, while Gilles Muller is the other seed in the Briton’s quarter of the draw.
Federer is in the same quarter as Lucas Pouille, with whom he practised in Dubai before Christmas.
Wawrinka is seeded to meet Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals and Gael Monfils in the last four.
Both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have opted to compete elsewhere – both will play in Acapluco, Mexico in the coming week.
The action at both hardcourt events gets under way on Monday.
