By Ros Satar
- Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-2 for the Qatar ExxonMobile Open title
- Claims his 60th ATP World Tour Title overall and his sixth consecutive title
DOHA, QATAR – Novak Djokovic served notice that he had no intentions of dropping his domination of the ATP World Tour as he cruised past Rafael Nadal in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
In the 47th edition of their epic rivalry, it was going to be interesing to see if Nadal had managed to regain some of the confidence that had deserted him at times last year, and whether he would be able to snap a losing streak to Djokovic.
The Spaniard had his own share of battles coming through to the final, dropping two sets on the way to the final, whereas Djokovic breezed through and although found himself facing a break point on his opening serve, he saved it and moved on, breaking Nadal twice in the first set, serving for it to love.
He continued his spree, breaking Nadal early in the second set, and once more for a 4-1 lead never once allowing the Spaniard another look at his serve.
Nadal, who was contesting his 99th final agreed that Djokovic has played ‘perfect’ tennis, telling ATPWorldTour.com: “Today, he’s better than me. We will see in two weeks or we will see in five months. The only thing that you can do is wait that the opponent is not playing like this all the time. That is difficult to play like this all the time. It’s obvious. I am going to wait for my moment.”
There was not much that Djokovic could disagree with.
“I haven’t dropped a set the entire week,” he said. “When it was most needed against one of my biggest rivals, I managed to play the best tennis in a match where I fought for the trophy. So it does definitely give me a great deal of confidence for the rest of the season.
“I’m playing the tennis of my life, and I will try to nurture and cherish those moments on the court. As I said in the ceremony, I will use this confidence level in every tournament that I play. I know that it can’t go forever, but I’m not thinking too much ahead of myself.”
The Australian Open champion now surely remains the favourite to lift a sixth title in Melbourne, which starts in 18 January.
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