Groth Joins The Swans
Groth Joins The Swans
Jan092016
World number one Novak Djokovic claimed his first title of the year with an impressive 6-1 6-2 win over Rafael Nadal in the Qatar Open.
The Serb continued his recent dominance of the 14-time Grand Slam title winner with a ninth victory in 10 meetings – the last five in straight sets.
The 28-year-old broke twice in both sets as Nadal, 29, had no answer to the pace and power of his groundstrokes.
Djokovic is preparing to defend his Australian Open title from 18 January.
This was Djokovic’s most convincing victory against Nadal in their 47 meetings, a head-to-head he leads for the first time.
Nadal made just 13 unforced errors but was bullied off the court by an inspired opponent who gave him perhaps the most uncomfortable 73 minutes he has faced on court.
Djokovic, who has reached the final of every event he has entered since losing to Ivo Karlovic in the quarter-finals of last year’s Qatar Open, lost just nine points on his own serve.
Nadal, meanwhile, won only 48% of points on his own first serve and made nine winning returns compared to 30 from Djokovic.
Djokovic, for whom this was a first Qatar Open title, said: “I played very much perfect tennis.
“From the beginning, I hit every shot the way I imagined I would hit it. Those two sets give me a great feeling.
“It gives me a lot of confidence and satisfaction, particularly against Rafa.”
British number two Aljaz Bedene was beaten 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 by Borna Coric in the Chennai Open semi-finals.
Coric, one place above Bedene at 44 in the world rankings, went 4-2 up in the first set tie-break and took it 7-5.
Bedene, who came from a set down to beat India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan in the quarter-finals, led 4-1 in the second before eventually winning a tie-break.
Croatian Coric sealed the match in two hours 56 minutes and faces defending champion Stan Wawrinka in the final.
Slovenia-born Bedene needed treatment in the final set against Coric, who won their only previous encounter in Croatia last year.
Coric held serve in a 13-minute seventh game and then broke in the next to secure a key advantage.
World number four Wawrinka took just one hour and five minutes to oust third seed Benoit Paire of France 6-3 6-4 at the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium.
Two-time Grand Slam winner Wawrinka is seeking his fourth Chennai Open title, following victories in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
Nick Kyrgios secured the Hopman Cup for Australia Green by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 6-4 to give his team a 2-0 victory over Ukraine in Perth.
Daria Gavrilova had earlier defeated Elina Svitolina 6-4 7-6 (8-6) in the women’s rubber of the mixed event.
Svitolina had six set points at 6-1 in the second-set tie-break but lost the last seven points of the match.
Kyrgios, ranked 30th in the world, beat Britain’s world number two Andy Murray in the group stage on Wednesday.
The tournament hosts, who had two squads competing in the eight-team event, last won the competition in 1999.
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka won her first title since 2013 by beating Angelique Kerber in the Brisbane International final.
The unseeded Belarusian, who has been plagued by injuries in recent years, beat the fourth-seeded German 6-3 6-1.
World number 22 Azarenka, 26, is preparing for the Australian Open, which starts on 18 January. She won in Melbourne in both 2012 and 2013.
Roger Federer and Milos Raonic meet in the Brisbane men’s final on Sunday.
Swiss Federer, ranked third in the world, beat Austria’s Dominic Thiem 6-1 6-4 in the last four while Canadian Raonic overcame Australia’s Bernard Tomic 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5).
Top-seeded Swiss will face Raonic in rematch of 2015 final
Roger Federer raced past Dominic Thiem in his first career FedEx ATP Head2Head against the Austrian on Saturday at the Brisbane International 6-1, 6-4, setting up a rematch of the 2015 final against Canada’s Milos Raonic. It marks the Swiss’ third straight trip to Brisbane’s trophy match.
“I think it was my best match of the tournament,” said Federer, who totaled 12 winners to just 10 unforced errors in the hour-long affair. “I thought I hit the ball pretty well, but that’s usually how it goes. You always play better toward the end. Nobody cares how you played at the beginning, as long as you got there. I’m very excited to be back in the final. It’s going to be special playing Milos again tomorrow.”
The defending champ was in control from the very start at Pat Rafter Arena, where he raced out to a 5-0 lead in the 22-minute first-set before Thiem managed to get on the scoreboard.
Like Federer, the No. 8-seed boasts a sweeping one-handed backhand, which he used to good effect in his quarter-final upset of No. 3 seed Marin Cilic. But the 22-year-old, who finished 2015 as the youngest player in the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, was rarely able to use it to hurt his veteran opponent in the semi-finals.
Federer converted service breaks in the first and seventh games of the final set, as the unforced errors began to mount for Thiem (he finished with 26). With the loss, he fell to 1-10 against Top-10 competition.
Federer, 34, defeated Raonic in last year’s title match, which served as his 1,000th career victory on the ATP World Tour.
No. 4 seed downs Tomic 7-6(5), 7-6(5) for return trip to title match
Milos Raonic is into the Brisbane International final for the second straight year. On a muggy Saturday afternoon at Pat Rafter Arena, the No. 4 seed ousted No. 7 seeded Australian Bernard Tomic 7-6(5), 7-6(5) to book a return trip to the title match.
“It was a great match today, a difficult one against Bernie,” said Raonic. “He’s been playing so well, and I know he’s going to do great things this year. I’m happy with the way I’ve been able to start the year. I’m happy with the way things are progressing.”
The 6-foot-5 Canadian dug himself out of a 0-40 hole to hold for 3-2, and went on to take the evenly played first set in a tie-break, edging the home country favourite in winners 24-16.
Tomic came into the semis boasting a tournament-best 41 aces. But it was Raonic who was the bigger server on Saturday, out-acing the 23-year-old 13-10. His 12th ace of the night sent the second set into a tie-break, where he raced out to a 5-1 advantage. Tomic reeled off four straight points to level the stanza before Raonic capped the win with a nifty spin volley at the net.
Raonic is now 2-0 against Tomic, having won their first FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter in Tokyo in 2014.
Roger Federer defeated Raonic in last year’s title match, which served as the Swiss’ 1,000th victory on the ATP World Tour.
In doubles action, No. 2 seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers combined for 10 aces and 28 winners in defeating No. 4 seeds Dominic Inglot/Robert Lindstedt 6-4, 6-3 to reach Sunday’s final, where they’ll face the Australian duo of James Duckworth/Chris Guccione. Duckworth/Guccione advanced via walkover over Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov, a late withdrawal due to shoulder soreness.
World No. 5 Nadal eyes second Doha title
Rafael Nadal will attempt to capture his first ATP World Tour hard-court title for two years on Saturday when he plays familiar foe Novak Djokovic in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final. “I know if I’m playing well, I am going to have opportunities,” said Nadal. The top seeds will meet for a record 47th time on the ATP World Tour. The series is currently tied 23-all, with Djokovic winning the past four matches.
Nadal, who won the 2014 title, booked a place in his 99th tour-level final (67-31 record) by knocking out World No. 94 Illya Marchenko, appearing in his third ATP World Tour semi-final. 6-3, 6-4 in 78 minutes.
“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.”
Nadal opened up a 3-0 lead in the first set, which he won in 35 minutes. With a string of winners, Marchenko recovered from 15/40 in the opening game of the second set, but Nadal soon applied the pressure and broke to love for a 3-2 advantage.
Marchenko defeated defending champion David Ferrer in the first round and overcame No. 7 seed Jeremy Chardy in the quarter-finals
Meanwhile, Djokovic improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Tomas Berdych to 22-2 by downing the Czech 6-3, 7-6(3) in the semi-finals. Djokovic dropped serve in the opening game of the match, but did not falter on serve the rest of the way and closed out the win in just under two hours.