Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal to win ATP Qatar Open

On Saturday, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic will take on resurgent 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in the for the Qatar Open title in Doha.

The win also edged Djokovic in front in his head-to-head battle with Nadal with a 24th win in 47 matches.

Top-seeded Djokovic beat Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-6 (3) after Nadal had advanced to his 99th career final by defeating Illya Marchenko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4. The Serbian broke in the second and sixth games and closed the set out to love.

“I played against a player who did everything flawless”. Later, post the match too Nadal zestfully said, “Well, I found a new coach too today”.

“When I say flawless, it’s not one thing in particular”. Djokovic won 6-1, 6-2 in 73 minutes, taking home $201,165, while the runner-up, who lost in the first round here a year ago, settled for $105,940.

The Serb broke Nadal’s serve twice in each set, and saved the one break point he faced in the opening game of the match.

Djokovic is, unfortunately for Nadal, still the man to beat.

“I played against a player who is playing on a level that is hard to imagine that someone can play that good”, Nadal said of Djokovic.

Banging an ace to close an immaculate set of shot-making, Djokovic delivered 16 winners against just four unforced errors blitzing through the opener in 31 minutes. I don’t really know what mentally exhausted means, but I don’t feel stressed out just now.

Back in the days when Nadal was still sporting a muscle top and pirate trousers, Djokovic was simply an upcoming challenger to the Spaniard and the Queen’s Club was decked in Stella Artois red, these two played out a high-quality final in west London.

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. “I came out on the court with the right intention, right intensity, and with a great deal of confidence I carried from the last season”. I am living the best time of my life and career.

Their most recent meeting at a Grand Slam was at the quarter-finals of the 2015 French Open – on Nadal’s favourite surface, clay, with eventual finalist Novak Djokovic going down to Stan Wawrinka and seeing his dreams of a calendar slam that year cut short by the Swiss.

“I really thought I hit the ball very well”, the evergreen 34-year-old, lathered in sweat from the muggy Brisbane heat, said in a courtside interview.