Nadal buoyed by Mubadala win

However, Ferrer showed the fighting spirit he is known for, and roared back to break Nadal and force a tiebreak, which he won to force a deciding set. The titanic tussle, which saw 25 aces, was decided in one hour 40 minutes of thrilling tennis.

It was an intense, but immensely entertaining match: clearly no one had sent the memo to the protagonists that this was an exhibition tournament season-opener, and it marked Nadal’s first win in three matches against Ferrer at Mubadala.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion was imperious, showing all the signs of what could be a glorious return to form in 2016.

“I thought we both played a great match, and I think both of us were happy with the way that we played. The people enjoyed and for me it is important to start with a victory and tomorrow a chance to play again”.

“I m going to be passionate”. I am working hard to be at the level of the best players and I know that when I was playing well in my career I was ready to compete against all of those guys. “I feel myself well and I hope to be ready for what’s coming”.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rose to fame by virtue of his performance at the 2008 Australian Open where, as an unseeded player, he reached the final beating then World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. Raonic proceeded to up his game, charging to five consecutive games, including a run of fourteen straight points, claim the set.

Raonic defeated Stan Wawrinka 7-5 7-5 in Friday’s other semi-final, while Feliciano Lopez claimed fifth place by winning two tie-breaks against Kevin Anderson.

Nadal told Spanish television that he has put 2015 behind: “I accept things the way they are and I accept that it was not a good year but it was not so bad”.

“I lost control of my emotions on the court, it was frustrating at times but I always tried to keep going match after match, but I had that anxiety for more than half of the season this year and I couldn´t overcome it during that time”.