World number one Novak Djokovic started his 2016 campaign with an easy Qatar Open final win over long-time rival Rafael Nadal in Doha on Saturday.
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The 28-year-old Djokovic and 29-year-old Nadal are tied at 23-23 in their career head-to-head, although the Serbian has had the clear recent advantage, having won all four of their matches last year in straight sets.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are going to face each one more time. “I managed to hit every shot the way I imagined before the match”.
Nadal, victor of 67 titles in his career, has now failed to win a hard-court tournament for two full years – since the 2014 Doha event. The Spaniard dropped just four points on his first serve, saved the solitary break point he faced, fired six aces, no double faults, 16 winners against 13 unforced and was at no point out of control.
Federer’s serve was bulletproof during the clutch moments, however, and the world No. 3 closed out the contest with a booming ace on his second match point.
Murray said he had two goals this year, one immediate and the other later in the year, namely the Australian Open – which starts on 18 January – and the defence of his Olympic title.
Nadal refused to describe his match against Marchenko as ideal but it certainly appeared like it was from the stands.
Marchenko was a surprise 6-3 7-6 (7-3) victor against seventh seed Jeremy Chardy after also beating David Ferrer, while third seed Berdych beat qualifier Kyle Edmund in straight sets, 6-3 6-2. For Nadal, meanwhile, that emphatic loss at Roland Garros was just one of a number of low points in what was the most disappointing year for the Spaniard since he first burst onto the tour as a teenage prodigy over a decade ago.
Things would only get better for the World No. 1 after that, as Djokovic broke again to take a 5-1 lead with a service game of his own to wrap up the set. Playing to a high level and trading well from the back of the court, Djokovic came from a break down in the second set and actually served for it before Nadal closed out to claim the title. I don’t know anyone playing tennis like this ever.
Djokovic escaped with a hard 6-3, 7-5 victory over eight seed Leonardo Mayer of Argentina on Thursday to advance to the semifinal. “I know that it can’t go forever, but I’m not thinking too much ahead of myself”.
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“I guess it’s a pretty important match … let’s see what happens”, Djokovic said.
