Nadal kicks off 2011 in style with victory over Fe
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal fired a statement of intent to his rivals after starting 2011 with his first trophy of the year, beating Roger Federer at the World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.
Nadal, who beat Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals, succesfully defended his title at the exhibition tournament, edging two tiebreaks to clinch a 7-6(4) 7-6(3) victory after neither player dropped his serve.
Nadal had to battle from 3-0 down in the first tiebreaker, but Federer, who beat Robin Soderling to reach the final, had to save break point early in the second set.
Last month Nadal beat Federer in a charity exhibition match in Spain, a day after Federer had won in three sets in Basel.
Meanwhile, Kim Clijsters beat world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 4-6 12-10 in an exhibition match in Thailand.
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