Rafael Nadal claimed his fourth Mudabala world tennis championship with a 6-4 7-6(5) win over David Goffin as he begins preparation for the 2017 season.
The 14 time grand slam champion used aggressive spin on the ball to outmanoeuvre Goffin which led to the Spaniard breaking three times en route to victory in Abu Dhabi. This is ideal preperation for Nadal as he bids to win his second Australian Openin a couple of weeks time. He will also head to Brisbane next week to gain more practice and in hope that he can claim his first official ATP world tour title of the 2017 season.
The main comfort for all Nadal fans will be that his wrist and knees held up well in Abu Dhabi as he looks in good physical shape heading into the upcoming season.After the match, Nadal expressed how excited he is about the new season, “When you have success many times here is so special. I’m very excited to start a new season playing at this level last three days”. The Spaniard will be very encouraged by the past few days in Abu Dhabi and will hope to continue the same success in Brisbane when he plays Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round.
As for Goffin, he can be encouraged by his few matches after beating Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and World number one Andy Murray, he just fell short against Nadal today. However this exhibition has proven that if he plays anywhere near the level of last season he can be a major threat to the top ten once again. The Belgian will hope to continue his impressive momentum in Doha heading into the Australian Open.
The Australian Open starts on the 16th of January and concludes on the 29th of January.
