Djokovic reigned supreme on the ATP Tour previous year and was only denied a calendar Grand Slam by Stan Wawrinka’s victory in the French Open final at Roland Garros.
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“To be back in a final is always a great feeling, especially the first week of the season”, the Spaniard said.
– Screen grab off Reuters videoMELBOURNE, Jan 11 – Finally clinching an elusive Australian Open crown is Andy Murray’s number one goal for the new year but the Briton concedes that his hopes of success at Melbourne Park may rest on champion Novak Djokovic having an off-day. “It’s a final so you fight for the trophy”.
“I know if I’m playing well, I am going to have opportunities”, Nadal said.
Nadal, who won the 2014 title, booked a place in his 99th tour-level final (67-31 record) by beating World No. 94 Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-4 in 78 minutes. The series had been tied 23-all. Djokovic is, unfortunately for Nadal, still the man to beat.
The Swiss dropped just two points on serve through the first set, but Federer showed signs of fatigue in the second.
The victor of the Nadal-Marchenko match will advance to the final against either Novak Djokovic or Tomas Berdych, who will also collide on Friday.
Djokovic took a few rallies to warm up-the first game comprised 10 points-and Nadal grabbed the initiative against the Serb’s serve to bring up an immediate break point.
He hit 30 winners, forced seven break points and faced only one himself, which, predictably, he saved. The world No. 1 trailed in each set against Leonardo Mayer on Thursday, so he was hardly flustered when the Czech raced ahead early.
There can be little doubt that the second half of 2015 required an enormous effort from Murray as he steered Great Britain to their first Davis Cup title since 1936.
In a beautifully brutal 73-minute destruction, Djokovic not only defeated Nadal for the ninth time in their last 10 meetings to take a 24-23 lead in their rivalry, he barely looked stressed getting the job done.
Nadal was powerless to stop Djokovic as he watched 16 winners fly past him in the opening set.
Nadal’s serve dominated throughout against the player who knocked out the reigning champion and fourth seed David Ferrer in the first round.
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Rarely can the current world number five have been beaten so easily, although he tried to remain upbeat, saying he had made “a positive start to the season”. It’s very important to me.
