TENNIS NEWS – NOVAK DJOKOVIC & RAFA NADAL BOTH ADVANCE IN DOHA & ROGER FEDERER IS SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY IN BRISBANE BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 6th January 2016

TENNIS NEWS - NOVAK DJOKOVIC & RAFA NADAL BOTH ADVANCE IN DOHA & ROGER FEDERER IS SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY IN BRISBANE BY RICKY DIMON

epa05090025 Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Fernando Verdasco of Spain during their second round match of the Qatar Open tennis tournament at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, 06 January 2016. EPA/STRINGER |

Novak Djokovic coasted through round two of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Wednesday afternoon, as he defeated Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and nine minutes. Djokovic saved both of the break points he faced while earning four scalps of the Spaniard’s serve.

It has been an easy start to the 2016 campaign for the world No. 1, who dominated last season to the tune of three major titles. His first-round match in Doha ended after a mere 51 minutes, as Dustin Brown also bowed out via a 6-2, 6-2 scoreline.

“Both of the matches went very well,” Djokovic said of rounds one and two. “You never know how you’re gonna start a season, but you’re hoping for the best. Tonight I had a tough opponent. Obviously he’s a very powerful opponent; if he has time he can be very dangerous. So I tried to take away that time from him and it was a very solid performance.”

Rafael Nadal joined his rival in the quarterfinals by trouncing Robin Haase 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and five minutes. Nadal also fought off both of the break points he faced to take care of all nine of his service games. The second-seeded Spaniard served at 74 percent for a second consecutive match.

Haase came up with some outstanding stuff of his own midway through the second set, when he stayed alive in a rally with a forehand squash shot then flicked a bizarrely awesome winner past Nadal with both players up at net.

“He killed me on that one,” Nadal joked. “He’s an aggressive player. I think he played well at the end of the first and in the second. He played so aggressive, but I think I played a great match. It was an opponent I respect so much, so I’m very happy to be through.

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves the ball to Robin Haase of the Netherlands during their second round match of the Qatar Open tennis tournament at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, 06 January 2016. EPA/STRINGER

“Very nice feeling; no wind, perfect temperature,” Nadal added, referring to the conditions. “(I’m) very happy to be through. It was a great match; I think I played a very solid match. I played so well against a very difficult opponent.”

The 14-time Grand Slam champion will go up against Andrey Kuznetsov on Thursday, while a semifinal spot will also be at stake when Djokovic battles Leonardo Mayer.

Meanwhile at the Brisbane International, Roger Federer will be contesting his first match of the season when he takes the court on Thursday night. The 34-year-old Swiss is coming off a stellar 2015 campaign in which he finished runner-up to Djokovic at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the World Tour Finals after upsetting the world No. 1 during round-robin competition in London. Federer’s year began in ideal fashion, with a title at this Brisbane event.

Up first for the top seed is a second career meeting with Tobias Kamke, who lost their only previous showdown against the 17-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 at the 2012 French Open.

It has already been a productive week Down Under for Kamke, as he qualified for the main draw by defeating Norbert Gombos and Jurgen Zopp before getting the best of Australian wild card Benjamin Mitchell 6-2, 6-4 on Monday. With three matches already under his belt, the 277th-ranked German has to be feeling comfortable on these courts.