RAFAEL NADAL REPEATS AS CHAMPION AT MUBADALA WORLD TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

Written by: on 1st January 2017
Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2016
RAFAEL NADAL REPEATS AS CHAMPION AT MUBADALA WORLD TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

epa05692640 Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates with the trophy after winning against David Goffin of Belgium the final of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2016 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 31 December 2016. EPA/STR  |

By Ricky Dimon

 

Rafael Nadal won the Mubadala World Tennis Championship for the fourth time in his career and for a second straight season when he triumphed over David Goffin 6-4, 7-6(5) on Saturday. This marked the first occasion on which Nadal did not earn an opening bye as one of the top two seeds, but he managed to navigate his way through three successful matches.

 

Goffin, who has still never faced Nadal in official ATP competition, punched his ticket to the final by taking out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world No. 1 Andy Murray. The Belgian did not have as much luck against Nadal, although he did well to make the championship match relatively competitive. Neither player got broken until Goffin served to stay in he opening set. Following the hiccup at 4-5, the world No. 11 briefly turned the tide in his favor with a break for 2-1 in the second. Nadal, however, got back on serve at 3-3 and survived a one-hour and 14-minute second set in a ‘breaker.

 

“When you have success this many times here, it’s because of something special,” the Spaniard told his Abu Dhabi supporters.”You like the court, you like the place, and you especially like the crowd. I’m very happy here. It’s a great atmosphere and I feel the love of the people. Many thanks to everybody who makes this great event possible each year. Next year is the 10th edition, which shows it is special.

 

“I’m very happy to be back in competition after several months out,” Nadal continued. “I had some problems with my wrist. But it’s a new year and I’m very excited. These three days have been great for me, to be back and playing at this level. I’m very happy and I wish everybody a happy new year.”

 

“I’ve really enjoyed being here in Abu Dhabi,” Goffin noted. “I would like to thank everybody who organized this fantastic event. I’ve spent three wonderful days here and I will come back if I can–of course, no doubt.”

Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during their match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2016 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 29 December 2016. EPA/STR

 

In the consolation showdown for third and fourth place, Murray beat Milos Raonic 6-3, 7-6(6).

 

“It was quite tricky with the shadows returning Milos’ serve, but I did a pretty good job of that,” the Scot explained. “I was timing the ball quite well, but there’s a few things I can still do better. It was good for me to get two good matches in with two top players in Goffin and Raonic. It’s been a productive couple of days.”

 

“I did a lot of things that are positive takeaways, and I think that’s what I have to focus on most going into the next few weeks,” Raonic said. “I got myself into trouble with things I’m trying to incorporate into my game. In tournaments you don’t always play two of the best returners in the game (Nadal and Murray), so it’s a different scenario. I think I’m missing a little bit of mental strength; I had break points I should have executed. I need to take a step forward mentally, as physically I think I am doing a lot of things well.”

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

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