Nadal has defeated Pablo Carreno Busta, Robin Haase, Andrey Kuznetsov, and Illya Marchenko. The Serb was forced to save break point after Nadal had produced a series of sumptuous forehands that were unsettling the Serb, but Djokovic, whose exertions in Qatar this week have been characterised by laborious starts, held firm to to take the first game.
Advertisement
Novak Djokovic (L) of Serbia holds the trophy as he stands next to second place Rafael Nadal of Spain after winning his Qatar Open men’s single tennis final match in Doha, Qatar, January 9, 2016.
The world number one enjoyed a superb 2015 season and the Serbian star etched his name into the history books by breaking a number of records. Nadal has dropped two sets but has looked sharp this tournament.
“I played against a player who did everything flawless”. Nadal did finally hold with the help of a net-cord, but Djokovic was slipping into his unsafe rhythm of relentless depth and angle from the baseline.
“I know if I’m playing well, I am going to have opportunities”, Nadal said.
Having lost to Djokovic in last year’s final at Melbourne Park and in the 2011 and 2013 title-deciders, Murray is well aware he faces a huge task to overcome his fierce rival and win his first Australian title.
Djokovic broke Nadal’s serve twice in each set, and saved the one break point he faced in the opening game of the match.
He said: “I played pretty much flawless tennis today from the very beginning I managed to get every shot the way I wanted”.
Nadal had taken the first two sets before Djokovic retired with an injury, granting the Spaniard victory as he went on to successfully defend his title.
Andy Murray says he may need number one Novak Djokovic’s form to dip to have a chance of victory in the Australian Open, which starts next week. If it could do that and break the four-match losing streak, it would be a sign that the old Nadal is back and that he would be a force to be reckoned with this upcoming season. “It’s always a great challenge to play him on any surface in any city, the rivalry goes on”.
“I am well prepared for it as it’s the important match. I hope we put on a good show and fans will enjoy it”.
Prediction: Nadal couldn’t come close to matching Djokovic previous year, but there is plenty of reason to think that their first meeting of 2016 will be a lot more competitive. “So for me it’s so important to win these kind of matches”.
Advertisement
He added in his press conference: “I have noticed that Rafa has been very aggressive on second-serve returns this week”.
