NOVAK DJOKOVIC returns to action today for the first time since he won the Australian Open, bidding to win his third Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title in a row.
The world No.3 from Serbia is the No.2 seed in the UAE and lines up in the latest ATP500 event against unseeded Frenchman Michael Llodra in the first round.
Anything other than a Djokovic victory would be a massive shock despite the fact 30-year-old Llodra tied their career head to head at one apiece with a straight-sets victory last year.
I won't read anything into that result and neither will the bookies. The best price you will get for Djokovic, seven years Llodra's junior, is 1-9 with William Hill, 888sport, Paddy Power and Blue Square.
Parisian Llodra is 6-1 with Betfred, Skybet, bet365 and boylesports but I would be stunned if he were to knock out the treble-chasing Serb.
Djokovic in straight sets is the most likely outcome but the best you will get there is 2-5 with Paddy Power.
With world No.1 Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling (4) and Andy Murray (5) sitting out Dubai the biggest threat to Djokovic's hopes is sure to come in the shape of world No.2 and top seed Roger Federer.
The four-time Dubai winner is also back in action for the first time since Melbourne where he lost to Djokovic in the semis.
First up for the Swiss is a first career meeting with world No.79 Somdev Devvarman from India. This too should be comfortable for Federer and he is a massive 1-66 favourite.
But if unseeded Devvarman is your fancy you'll get 20-1 with Betfred. I've studied the field in Dubai and can't see much troubling the routes of the top two to the final on Sunday.
Federer, even in the heat of Dubai, probably won't break sweat until the semis where he is likely to face No.4 seed Mikhail Youzhny.
It's slightly tougher for Djokovic in the bottom half of the draw with No.7 seed Marcos Baghdatis in the quarter-finals and No.3 seed Tomas Berdych in the last four the potential problem spots.
Djokovic and Federer are both 2-1 (bet365, SkyBet and Betfred) to win the title and a final meeting is certainly the way to go.
My money will be going on the Swiss to gain revenge for Melbourne and capture his fifth Dubai crown.
Don't forget to stick mrfixitstips.co.uk in your browser for regular Dubai updates.
