Dubai: The year 2003 marked the beginning of Roger Federer's dominance of the championships, as he defeated third-seeded Jiri Novak 6-1, 7-6 to claim the title without the loss of a set.
The second seed was Marat Safin, but he was upset in the second round by Tommy Robredo in a third set tiebreak. Yevgeny Kafelnikov returned for a fourth year, but again failed to make an impression as he fell in the second round to Hicham Arazi.
Fourth seed Tim Henman was another big name to lose early — falling in the first round to Attila Savolt. The doubles was won by Leander Paes and David Rikl, who beat Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett 6-3, 6-0 in the final.
Like Federer, Justine Henin began a long winning streak in the women's event, the top seed saving a match point in the final as she fought her way to a 4-6, 7-6, 7-5 victory over fourth seed Monica Seles.
Two of Henin's other three matches also stretched to three sets, first against qualifier Anca Barna in the second round and then against third seed Jennifer Capriati in the semi-finals, as she won both matches 6-4 in the final set.
Forced to retire
Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo was forced to retire against Seles in the semi-finals due to a thigh injury.
The doubles featured arguably the greatest player of all time, Martina Navratilova, and she teamed up with Svetlana Kuznetsova to win the title with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Cara Black and Elena Likhovtseva.
