Week in Preview: Will the ATP year begin with a Murray-Djokovic final?

Tennis fans go through the same rituals as everyone else on New Year’s Eve. We gulp champagne, watch the ball drop and lament those who left us too soon in 2016.

On the upside, though, we do get to start our 2017 a little earlier than everyone else. Along with the New Year’s wishes comes word of the first draws of the season, from Qatar, Australia and India. Yes, it can seem a little surreal to be kicking things off so soon. Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that we were watching Argentina win its first-ever Davis Cup in last year’s final? But then your eyes scan the draws, and you catch a glimpse of your favorite player hitting balls in some sunny locale halfway across the world, and you start thinking ahead to 2017—to Melbourne, to Miami, to the French and Wimbledon. You’re ready.

Here’s a look at how the ATP is getting its 2017 started.

Qatar ExxonMobil Open

*Location: Doha, Qatar

Purse: $1,334,270; 250 ranking points

Surface: Plexicushion (hard court)*

Draw is here

The newly knighted Andy Murray will begin 2017 as a Sir, and as a world No. 1, for the first time. How will he react?

Novak Djokovic will begin 2017 at No. 2, having surrendered the top spot to Murray on the final day of last season after holding it for 122 straight weeks. How will he react?

We won’t have to wait long to find out. Murray and Djokovic are the top two seeds this week in Doha. If they meet next weekend, it will almost certainly be a preview of many bigger finals to come. And while this result will be an early one, it could set a tone and send a message. I think that’s especially true if Djokovic can reverse his recent fortunes and come up with a win. Murray will begin against Jeremy Chardy; Djokovic against Jan-Lennard Struff.

Also here: Tomas Berdych, David Goffin, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Brisbane International

*Location: Brisbane, Australia

Purse: $495,630; 250 ranking points

Surface: Plexicushion (hard court)*

Draw is here

Milos Raonic may have been the ATP’s most improved player in 2016, and his rise began when he beat Roger Federer in the Brisbane final last year. This time the Canadian returns as the top seed and the world’s third-ranked player, and you have to think that anything short of a major title in the 2017 will be a disappointment.

But Raonic won’t have much time to get his legs and his game under him. His second match will likely be against fifth-seeded Rafael Nadal. Rafa leads their head to head 6-1, and he looked sharp in winning the exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last week (one of his wins came over Raonic in three sets). Nadal appears to be healthy and hitting well; now we’ll see how the nerves that come with real competition affect him.

Also seeded: Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Dominic Thiem. A title by any of them in Brisbane will vault them up the contenders’ list at the Australian Open.

First-round matches to watch:

—Nadal vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov

—Bernard Tomic vs. David Ferrer

—Lucas Pouille vs. Gilles Simon

Aircel Chennai Open

*Location: Chennai, India

Purse: $505,730; 250 ranking points

Surface: Plexipave (hard court)*

Draw is here

Chennai has, on a couple of occasions, been a harbinger of bigger things at the Australian Open. In 2014, Wawrinka won both events, and in 2010, Marin Cilic won in Chennai before reaching the semis at a Slam for the first time in Melbourne. Now Cilic, who also won this event in 2009, is back as the top seed. One question he’ll want to answer sooner rather than later: Has he recovered from Croatia’s crushing defeat in the Davis Cup final six weeks ago?

Also here: Borna Coric. If Cilic shows that a good result in Chennai can be a confidence-booster, his fellow Croat shows the opposite. Last year Coric reached the final here, then lost in the first round at his next three tournaments, including the Aussie Open. But we expect better things from Coric in 2017, don’t we? He’s finally not a teenager anymore.