The world number one cruised to victory in Doha 6-1, 6-2 in a match lasting little more than an hour.
Advertisement
It takes the world No1 into the lead in this rivalry for the first time, 24-23, and his 60th title takes him into a special club the includes only the elite in this sport, with the likes of Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and, of course, Nadal.
Despite being broken four times, second-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win against Andrey Kuznetsov of Russian Federation. Nadal fought back from 0-3 in the opener, saving a set point as he took it on a tie-break.
The arm pain Djokovic has reportedly been experiencing on serve could create opportunities for Nadal, if it does hamper the world no. 1, but more importantly Nadal must serve very well himself – something he hasn’t always done this week. So it does definitely give me a great deal of confidence for the rest of the season.
Djokovic will aim to retain the Australian Open crown in Melbourne where he has won half of his 10 major titles. “I think it was a good test. It was good to have a match like this, definitely, to see where I am and I’m just glad to go through this one in straight sets”, said Djokovic. Setting his feet for sweeping swings, Djokovic streaked through five straight games. He converted his third break point in the opening game of the second set and secured another break to all but seal the match at 4-1. The Spaniard, looking to recapture the form that has made him a 14-time Grand Slam victor, won the first set comfortably enough but from there the real drama started.
Nadal’s serve dominated throughout against the player who knocked out the reigning champion and fourth seed David Ferrer in the first round.
Djokovic beat Tomas Berdych in the semis to reach the final against Nadal.
He also fired six aces and hit 16 winners.
“I played pretty much flawless tennis today”.
Top seed Djokovic needed to work harder to dispatch Mayer after the Argentine broke the Serb’s serve in the first game of the second set and served for it at 5-4.
Advertisement
Djokovic was full of praise for Nadal in his post-match press conference, describing the Spaniard as one of the best to ever pick up a racquet. Again the momentum swung and this time Djokovic would not let it go.
