31. 12. 2011. · Photo: Reuters
Nole is crowned Abu Dhabi champion!
The world’s best player outplayed fifth-ranked David Ferrer 6-2, 6-1 on his debut at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in UAE.
The Serbian showed why he is no. 1 at the moment and played some great tennis with remarkable shots. The message is clear. Nole is fresh and hungry to win as he has been throughout the 2011.
“This is the best way to start the 2012 season,” Novak said. “I must say I’m really happy with the way I’m playing. Playing against the top players in the world in this way gives me a lot of confidence.”
“Usually at this stage, you are trying to find your speed on the court, agility, just dynamics of every stroke, but I found it already, to be honest, right away after the first match. … It’s a great way for me to prepare for Melbourne.”
The prestigious exhibition event which has attracted six of the world’s top 10 players, was a good warm-up for the new season.
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Nole began his preparations with victories over Gael Monfils (6-2, 4-6, 6-2) and Roger Federer (6-2, 6-1).
He will now head to Australia for the first Grand Slam of the 2012 season, the Australian Open, which starts on Monday, January 16.
The 24-year-old Serbian star has had a dream run in 2011 with a 70-6 win-loss record and he finished the year with 10 titles, including 3 Grand Slams and a record five ATP World Tour Masters trophies.
