Djokovic, Wawrinka to return to action in Abu Dhabi

Tennis - Wimbledon - London, Britain - July 12, 2017 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action during his quarter final match against Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych REUTERS/Matthew Childs/File Photo

(Reuters) - Former world number one Novak Djokovic and Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka will return from lengthy injury breaks at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) exhibition event in Abu Dhabi in December.

After a poor run of form this year Djokovic retired from his Wimbledon quarter-final against Czech Tomas Berdych in July and the 30-year-old ended his season shortly afterwards due to a right elbow injury.

"The line-up is very strong as always and it will be the perfect way to make my comeback and begin the season. Abu Dhabi is an amazing place and this is going to be a great event for all of the fans," Djokovic told the tournament website.

Britain Tennis - Aegon Championships - Queen’s Club, London - June 20, 2017 Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka in action during his first round match against Spain's Feliciano Lopez Action Images via Reuters / Tony O'Brien Livepic/File Photo

Three-times grand slam winner Wawrinka did not defend his U.S. Open title this year and announced the end of his season in August due to a knee injury.

"The fans are amazing there and the draw is as strong as always with a lot of great players. My recovery is going well and I can't wait to be back on court," Wawrinka said.

World number one Rafa Nadal, Austrian Dominic Thiem, Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta and Canadian Milos Raonic will also compete in the tournament from Dec. 28-30.

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)