World No. 5 Miguel Angel Rodriguez, nicknamed the ‘Colombian Cannonball’ for his explosive style of play, says he cannot wait to compete in the PSA Dubai World Series Finals for the first time in his career when the season-ending tournament gets underway on May 24.

Taking place in front of Burj Khalifa, the World Series Finals brings the top eight players on the Road To Dubai Standings together and Rodriguez, who will be the first South American ever to compete in the lucrative tournament, believes the spectacular location adds further excitement to what is one of the best tournaments on the professional circuit.

“The location of the court in front of the Burj Khalifa is breathtaking and I think, after the Pyramids, it will be the best tournament ever,” said Rodriguez. “It’s a great accomplishment for me to be the first South American to compete at that event and I’m going to train hard for the next two weeks in preparation for a big push to end the season.

“Playing in Dubai is like a dream come true. I used to watch the World Series Finals and dream about playing in it so to be in the top eight and compete is something I’m very happy about.”

Rodriguez, who qualified in fifth place, has run into good form with recent semi-final finishes at the Windy City Open and El Gouna International.

“Qualifying for this tournament is the result of a lot of discipline and hard work over the past few years, not just this season,” he said.

“With it being the first World Series Finals for a few years, I really wanted to play this one. It was the focus for my season – I didn’t play many other tournaments because my goal was to get the points I needed from the World Series tournaments to qualify.

“Now I’m very excited. I think it is going to be a great week and I’m looking forward to being there. I’m going to bring my friends and family over and hopefully I will play well.”

Tickets for the tournament are now available at Ticketmaster.