The Dubai Tennis Championship certainly made headlines in 2009 when Shahar Pe'er was denied entry into the event due to the fact that she is Israeli. A number of the top stars in tennis both on the men's and women's side decided to withdraw due to the decision, and several of the stars have never come back to Dubai.

The good news this year is that most of the top stars are going to be back for this tennis betting battle, which will take place from February 27 to March 4.

The WTA Tour version of this event only got started in 2001, when Martina Hingis, then ranked No. 1 in the world, picked up the crown. Amelie Mauresmo won the title the next year, but since that point, it has really all just been about two women. Justine Henin-Hardenne (later and now known as simply Justine Henin) took the titles in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007. Lindsay Davenport won the only title in the middle here in Dubai, while Russian Elena Dementieva captured the crown in 2008.

Since that point, this has been the Venus Williams show. She became the first American to win here at the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2009, and she followed that up with her second straight title in 2010. Williams is expected to be back this year, but she is still an uncertainty after pulling out of the Australian Open with an injury in January.

For the men, this tournament dates back to 1993, where Karel Novacek became the first unheralded winner of the title. ATP betting action finally picked up some legitimate names here when Goran Ivanisevic beat Albert Costa in the 1996 finale.

Starting in 2003, Roger Federer took over a chokehold on this event just as he had for several years on the Grand Slam circuit. He won in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007, and the one year in which he did not win the event, he was beaten in the final by longtime nemesis, Rafael Nadal.

The only American to capture this crown on the men's side came in 2008 when Andy Roddick beat Feliciano Lopez.

Roddick, Federer, and Nadal all withdrew in 2009, which really left the door open for Novak Djokovic to take the title. He beat David Ferrer two years ago, and followed that up with a 2010 triumph over Mikhail Youzhny. The 2011 Australian Open winner will be joined once again by Federer and the man that he beat in the first Grand Slam finale of the year, Andy Murray, here in Dubai for one of the best tennis betting tournaments of the entire season. Don't miss out!

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI ON TOP OF THE WORLD

Caroline Wozniacki overcame Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1 6-3 to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Sunday and become the first player from Denmark to lift the title.

The 20-year old, who will return to the number one ranking next week after being replaced by Kim Clijsters at the top for just one week, was almost totally in charge of the match as 16th seeded Kuznetsova struggled to find the game that had served her so well throughout the week.

There was a moment of alarm when top seeded Wozniacki fell during the second point of the match, but she arose quickly and then dominated her lacklustre opponent.

Kuznetsova held just one game point on her serve in the first set, but failed to hold for 2-4. She then held a second game point when down 1-3 in the second set, and this time converted.

Wozniacki went on to break Kuznetsova at love to lead 5-2, but she failed to serve out the match as Kuznetsova staged some late resistance. The Russian held off two match points and broke Wozniacki’s serve, but failed to save a third on her own serve in the next game.

DJOKOVIC WINS THIRD SUCCESSIVE DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Novak Djokovic won his third successive Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title when he defeated top seed Roger Federer 6-3 6-3 on Saturday. It was his 20th career title, and he prevented the former four-time champion claiming his first title since 2007.

Federer looked tentative from the start, and second seeded Djokovic earned an early break for 2-1 when Federer made a backhand error. Djokovic then held two more break points to lead 4-1, and although Federer held on to win on his fourth game point he dropped his serve again at 5-3 when Djokovic forced another backhand error.

Federer reduced his errors at the beginning of the second set and was rewarded with a break for 2-1. But his lead was short-lived, as Djokovic leveled at 3-3 when Federer netted a smash, and the defending champion went on to claim the next four games as well to take his winning streak in Dubai to 15 matches.