Dubai: The first ball was hit at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on February 1 and Russia's Alexander Volkov was the top seed, but it was Karel Novacek who took the title with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Fabrice Santoro of France.
Santoro, who remarkably would lift the title ten years later, had overcome Volkov in the quarter-finals. The number two seed, Austria's Thomas Muster, also failed to reach the final, going down to third-seeded Novacek in the semi-finals.
Other notable players who took part in the inaugural event included the Sanchez brothers, Emilio and Javier, Magnus Gustafsson, Younes Al Aynaoui — who drew top seed Volkov in the first round and who would go on to face Santoro in the 2002 final — Anders Jarryd and Jeremy Bates.
There were some impressive names competing in the doubles draw too, including second seeds Grant Connell and Patrick Galbraith. But it was the top-seeded team of John Fitzgerald and Anders Jarryd who beat them in the final, winning 6-2, 6-1.
Back then, there was no grand stadium, no Irish Village, no themed area that is now one of the hot-spots of Dubai social life. There was a temporary stand erected in the grounds of the Aviation Club and it rained and there was a sandstorm, but the impeccable organisation and warm welcome for everyone ensured a successful event. And many of the players, who didn't know what to expect when they first arrived, had no hesitation in returning the following year.
Gulf News looks back at one of the previous 19 years of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships every day in the build-up to the 20th edition, which starts on February 20.
