SERBIAN TENNIS STAR NOVAK DJOKOVIC WINS IN DOHA, RAFA NADAL ROLLS INTO QUARTERS SHOWDOWN WITH RAONIC IN BRISBANE

Written by: Staff on 5th January 2017

SERBIAN TENNIS STAR NOVAK DJOKOVIC WINS IN DOHA, RAFA NADAL ROLLS INTO QUARTERS SHOWDOWN WITH RAONIC IN BRISBANE

epa05699558 Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic during their quarter-final match of the Qatar Open tennis tournament at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, 05 January 2017. EPA/NOUSHAD THEKKAYIL |

By Ricky Dimon

Novak Djokovic cruised into the semifinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Radek Stepanek on Thursday. Djokovic broke serve four times before advancing in one hour and 31 minutes. Next up for the No. 2 seed is Fernando Verdasco, who ousted Ivo Karlovic 6-2, 7-5.

Djokovic turned in a mostly clean performance amidst some significant wind, especially in the second set. The second-ranked Serb dropped serve once in the opener but lost a total of five points in four second-set service games.

“It’s always a great test playing in these kinds of conditions,” Djokovic said of the wind. “It’s never easy for a player but it’s the same for both of us. We have to accept those conditions…. It is exciting. Obviously you want to start off the year in the best possible way. I’ve got three out of three wins. I love playing in Qatar.

“[Stepanek] has my utmost admiration and respect,” he added. “At his age he’s still battling. He’s been around on the tour for so many years and a great guy.”

Rafael Nadal of Spain returns to Mischa Zverev of Germany during their second round match at the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament in Brisbane, Australia, 05 January 2017. EPA/DAVE HUNT

A showdown between two veterans also took place at the Brisbane International, where Rafael Nadal rolled over Mischa Zverev 6-1, 6-1. Nadal saved both of the break points he faced while prevailing in a mere 55 minutes.

”I played a great match,” said the fifth-seeded Spaniard. I”t’s difficult to say something negative, because in general I saw after–on the video screen–like 30 winners and just a few unforced errors. I was returning very well, I think; a lot of great passing shots.”

Nadal will face Milos Raonic in Friday’s quarterfinals. They are set to square off for the eighth time in their careers, with Nadal leading the head-to-head series 6-1–including 5-1 on hard courts. The current world No. 9 avenged a 2015 Indian Wells loss by most recently beating Raonic 6-3, 7-6(3) at the Shanghai Masters that fall. They also squared off at last week’s six-man Abu Dhabi event, with Nadal winning 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on his way to the title.

Raonic, who is up to a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world, is coming off a semifinal finish at the World Tour Finals–where he was one point from reaching the title match. Following a first-round bye as Brisbane’s No. 1 seed, the Canadian coasted past Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday.

“He’s one of the toughest opponents on tour today, without a doubt,” Nadal said of Raonic. “He’s the world No. 3. His serve is huge and he improved a lot from the baseline, too. It’s a match that you cannot [have] too many mistakes if you want to really have any chance. You need to be really focused with your serve and then try to play aggressively on the return. I am going to try to make it happen, knowing that it’s going to be an extremely difficult match.”