Novak Djokovic beats Tomas Berdych again, sets up Rafa Nadal final
Published 08/01/2016 at 18:00 GMT
Novak Djokovic stretched his winning run over Tomas Berdych to nine matches with a 6-3 7-6(3) triumph in the Qatar Open semi-finals.
Djokovic, ATP Doha
Image credit: AFP
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The world number one’s victory completed a remarkable one-year cycle, which has seen him reach the final in every ATP event he has contested.
He will meet Rafa Nadal, conqueror of Illya Marchenko, in Saturday’s final.
"This is exactly how I want to start the year, playing in the finals of the first tournament against one of my biggest rivals and I'm looking forward to that," said Djokovic.
"It always represents a great challenge to play Nadal because of the fact that we have played so many times for the trophies."
Second seed Nadal showed glimpses of his explosive best as he cruised through in 77 minutes.
The Spaniard dropped just four points on his first serve all match, duly swatting away the solitary break point he faced en route to a 6-3 6-4 win.
"I did a few good things, and I'm happy with the victory, being in the first final of the season in the first official tournament is something great," said Nadal.
"For sure it's important for my confidence, confirming that the end of the 2015 season had been something realistic and [in] the beginning of 2016 I [am] still playing well."
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