Djokovic crushes Nadal in Qatar Open final

In the Doha semifinals against world No. 94 Illya Marchenko, he cruised through 6-3 6-4 to bury the memory of his performance in the same event 12 months ago, when he crashed out in the opening round.

The win not only secured the 60th career title for the Serb but also means he is ahead for the first time in his head-to-head battle with Nadal, winning 24 of the 47 matches they have now played against each other.

“Hopefully I will be able to just as well in Melbourne also”, he said. “It’s always a great challenge and both of us had to go through a lot of emotions before the match getting ready and kind of analyzing and preparing tactically with the team”.

By holding off Dimitrov, who is 10 years his junior, Federer set up a meeting with 22-year-old Dominic Thiem, the youngest player in the top 20.

If there is one doubt he takes from Doha though is that he has a niggling arm injury, which he admits he has received treatment for, but downplayed its importance on Saturday.

Referring to the Spaniard’s recent improved play after struggling throughout most of 2015, when his ranking fell to as low as No. 10, Djokovic said he was not surprised that his longtime rival had turned things around. “It was a good test to see where I am”. Again Dimitrov rallied, winning five consecutive points and forcing Federer to serve it out – which the 17-time major victor duly did.

Speaking to the Welwyn Hatfield Times, Bedene said: “This pre-season has been hard but when I get fit it will help me in Australia because it’s one of the toughest grand slams for me”. It was the platform he needed to win a thrilling Wimbledon final three weeks later.

And if most critics picked Djokovic to win the title, few probably expected such a one-sided contest as this became, particularly after the Serb admitted in press that he had a slight problem in his serving arm. Obviously knowing that I can play a match makes me feel relieved a bit, but it’s a little issue that has been there for most of this week. And I think I will be. That’s it. I am not frustrated.

World No. 1 Djokovic progressed through to Saturday’s final after overcoming Tomas Berdych in a bruising encounter, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).