Doha – Monday 8 March 2021 – Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Chairman of beIN MEDIA GROUP, President of Paris Saint-Germain and former professional tennis player, has personally welcomed tennis great Roger Federer to Doha at the start of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2021 today, which will be exclusively broadcast across the 24 countries of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) and also France, Singapore and Australia by beIN SPORTS.
 
The return of 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer to playing tournament tennis this week at the Qatar Exxon Open 2021 is one of the most anticipated comeback stories in sport. The Swiss tennis super-star hasn't played since the 2020 Australian Open last January, and had two knee surgeries in 2020. Federer has won the Qatar Open three times.
 
beIN SPORTS will exclusively broadcast the tournament across the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), France, Singapore and Australia – and beIN MEDIA GROUP’s Chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaifi – himself a former ATP ranked tennis player who played on the international circuit between 1992 and 2002 – warmly welcomed Federer back to Doha today.
 
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, President of the Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF), organisers of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open; Chairman of beIN MEDIA GROUP and President of Paris Saint-Germain, said:
 
“Roger is one of the greatest athletes of all time, while also being the epitome of good grace and sportsmanship on and off the court. For me it is his values as much as his achievements that are most inspiring, together with his relentless pursuit of excellence. 
 
It is an honour to welcome Roger back to Doha where his presence alone will light up the MENA region. With the Australian Open qualifiers and the FIFA Club World Cup seamlessly taking place here in Doha these past few months, I am pleased that Qatar has become one of the world’s COVID-safe sports hubs, bringing hope and a small sense of normalcy during these challenging times.” 
 
The tournament begins today and will conclude on 13 March, with all the action taking place at The Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha. In addition to Federer’s highly anticipated comeback, the ATP 250 Qatar ExxonMobil Open will also see the return of three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka; defending champion Andrey Rublev; 2019 Qatar ExxonMobil Open winner Roberto Bautista Agut; as well as 2020 US Open winner Dominic Thiem. 
 
beIN SPORTS’ coverage of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open will see the global sports channel exclusively cover the tournaments on its Arabic and English sports channels across all 24 countries of MENA, from Morocco to Oman and every country of MENA in between. The Arabic channels will also include studio coverage for all the best analysis and latest news updates from both tournaments. beIN SPORTS is also the exclusive broadcaster of the tournament in France, Singapore and Australia.