Djokovic to play Nadal in final of Qatar Open

In their only previous meeting, Nadal, 29, won in three sets at the French Open a year ago.

The 2014 champion Nadal won five of the 10 break points that he earned to triumph 6-2 5-7 6-4 and ensure he will face Ilya Marchenko on Friday.

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal has said he is “very happy” with his strong play on hard courts early in the 2016 season after advancing to the semi-finals of the Qatar Open.

Despite initially being a break up, Nadal lost a see-saw second set as Kuznetsov’s powerful forehands brought him back into the match.

World number one Novak Djokovic displayed an imperious form as he brushed aside eighth-seeded Leonardo Mayer in straight sets to sail into the semifinals of the Qatar Open in Doha. Kuznetsov broke Nadal four times in the match, but the former world No. 1 had enough gas in his tank to avoid an upset. Berdych, of the Czech Republic, beat Kyle Edmund of Britain 6-3, 6-2. The Ukrainian, who beat David Ferrer in the first round, defeated seventh-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 7-6 (3).

A relieved Nadal pumped his fist as he won, showing how much the victory meant to him.. “Fortunately I played a great third set, with a lot of intensity”.

Nadal, meanwhile, who endured a miserable 2015, showed he could be returning to his best with his most impressive performance of the week, winning 6-3, 6-4 against Marchenko. “He’s playing fantastic. The match against David was great, and today against Jeremy he played wonderful, too”.