Nadal lifts 5th Mubadala crown after thrilling Tsitsipas finale

World No.1 Rafael Nadal once again proved he is the man to beat as he fought back from a set down to overcome Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in three tough sets 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 and lift the Mubadala World Tennis Championship title for the fifth time.

Earlier, Tsitsipas, after three breaks of serve in the first set tie-break, took it 7-3 to clinch the first set 7-6. The set saw the Spanish ace break first in the 9th game, only to be broken by the Greek youngster in the very next to bring the set level on serves.

The second set went with serves until the 12th game in which Nadal broke Tsitsipas to take the set 7-5 and take the match into the decider.

In the third, it was Tsitsipas who broke Nadal in the sixth game, only to be broken back in the seventh. With the set seeing no further breaks of serve, the match went into its second tie-break in which Nadal stamped his authority to take the tie-break 7-3.

He took a 4-1 lead at one stage, only to be broken back by Tsitsipas who brought the scores to 3-4. However, that was as far as he could go and Nadal wrapped up the tie-break without further ado 7-3 to take the set 7-6 and the match 6-7, 7-5, 7-6.    

In a match to decide the consolation third-place finisher at the tournament, ATP-ranked No.2 Novak Djokovic put behind his shock semi-final loss to Tsitsipas with a 7-5, 6-3 win over ATP No.17 ranked Karen Khachanov of Russia.

The Serbian demonstrated his intent right from the start and broke the Russian in the very second game of the set to go 2-0 up. However, in the very next game, Khachanov broke back to bring the set level on serves.

The set went with service until the 12th game when Djokovic broke Khachanov’s serve to take the set 7-5. The second set saw just one break of serve when Djokovic broke Khachanov in the fourth game. With the Russian unable to break back, Djokovic took the set 6-3 and the match to grab third place in the tournament.

Djokovic was not discouraged by his loss to Tsitsipas on Friday and is certain he has time to hit his best level ahead of next month’s Australian Open, where he hopes to win a record-extending eighth title.

“The offseason wasn’t that long and I just recently started playing tennis, but for the level that I kind of thought I’d be on, this is positive,” Djokovic said.

Meanwhile, Nadal, who has had a shorter than usual offseason this year, believes he can work it to his advantage as he looks to carry his Davis Cup-winning form into 2020.

The world No.1 led Spain to the Davis Cup title just over three weeks ago then went on a short break before beginning his preparations for the new season.

On Friday, Nadal had swept aside Russian world No.17 Karen Khachanov 6-1, 6-3 in Abu Dhabi.

“That was a good masterclass. Rafa needs to tell me how much I need to pay him,” Khachanov joked after the match.

Nadal feels it was a victory that proved he can keep up his momentum from his strong finish to the 2019 season well into the new year.

“I was a little bit surprised the way that I played. I have been playing well at the end of the season. And it was just 15 days ago, a little bit more that I was winning the Davis Cup with Spain with the rest of the guys, so things went quick,” Nadal said.

“And at some point it’s negative that we didn’t have a lot of time (between seasons) but on the other hand I finished playing well and that helps to keep going playing well.”

Losing finalist in Abu Dhabi, Tsitsipas, meanwhile had told the press ahead of the final that one his main goals for 2020 is to end the year among the top three, which means he would need to squeeze out one of the current ‘Big Three’ of Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer.

“It’s good that he has a good ambition,” Nadal said of the young Greek.

“It’s important to have clear goals, and then you have to do it, and it’s something difficult because being in the top three is not easy. There are a lot of players that will fight to be in the higher positions of the ranking, but of course he had a great season and he will fight for important things.”