Novak Djokovic on Saturday won his first title of the year, playing “perfect” tennis to thrash archrival Rafael Nadal in straight sets during a breathtaking performance in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final.
The near faultless world No. 1 cruised to victory 6-1, 6-2 in a match lasting just one hour, 13 minutes.
The win not only secured the 60th career title for the Serb, but also means he is leading 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.
“I played pretty much perfect tennis today, from the very beginning I managed to get every shot the way I wanted,” Djokovic said.
He added that he was playing the best tennis of his career: “It did feel as close to perfection as it can get.
“Obviously, from the first to the last point I managed to impose my own tactical approach and strategy and what I have kind of prepared myself for, and the conditions were played to my favor,” Djokovic said.
Nadal cut a forlorn figure after the match and said he had never seen anyone produce a performance like Djokovic’s.
“Well, for the match is easy to analyze,” Nadal told reporters. “I played against a player who did everything perfect. I know nobody playing tennis like this ever. Since I know this sport I never saw somebody playing at this level.”
He told reporters that Djokovic’s play had been “stratospheric.”
Djokovic was brilliant throughout and his victory was so comprehensive it is to send a message to the rest of the tennis world that he aims to dominate exactly as he did last year, when he won three of the four majors.
He hit 30 winners, forced seven break points and faced only one himself, which, predictably, he saved.
Throughout the week in Qatar he did not drop a set and his victory means he won the only tournament in which he did not make the final last year.
Watched by a full house — where spectators included players and officials from Bayern Munich, as well as Premier League-bound coach Pep Guardiola — the result was never in doubt.
Djokovic broke Nadal’s serve twice in each set and was in control throughout.
Nadal took until the fourth game to get on the scoreboard, but it proved only a brief respite as Djokovic breezed through the first set in 30 minutes.
He immediately took control of the second, breaking the Spaniard’s serve in the very first game.
Any hope of a typical comeback from Nadal was fully extinguished in the fifth game, when Djokovic broke a second time to go 4-1 ahead.
It was the 16th consecutive final for Djokovic, who last failed to win a tournament in August last year in the US.
What the defeat is to do for the confidence of Nadal, desperate to return to his Grand Slam-winning form, is anyone’s guess.
Rarely can the current world No. 5 be beaten so easily, although he tried to remain upbeat, saying he had made “a positive start to the season.”
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