Straight sets exit for Federer,Nadal in Abu Dhabi semis

Novak Djokovic easily swept aside Roger Federer 6-2 6-1 Friday and will play David Ferrer in the final of the World Tennis Championship exhibition.

Novak Djokovic easily swept aside Roger Federer 6-2 6-1 Friday and will play David Ferrer in the final of the World Tennis Championship exhibition. Ferrer upset the second-ranked Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2 in the other semifinal. Nadal,who won the tournament the past two years,was nursing a sore shoulder and never seriously challenged his fellow Spaniard.

I knew before coming here that I was not ready to win a match against David Ferrer, Nadal said. ”But I am ready to spend hours on court without risk of injury. That is the most important thing. I need this transition,hours of practice. If I am here,I will probably have a better feeling for Doha.

The No. 1-ranked Djokovic showed plenty of the dominant play that helped him amass a 70-6 record last season including three Grand Slam titles. The 24-year-old Serb twice broke No. 3-ranked Federer in the first set and ran off nine games in a row in a one-sided affair that lasted only 44 minutes.

It is the perfect start to season. I played great, Djokovic said. Its something that makes me very happy.

However,Djokovic said fans shouldnt read too much into his win over Federer,against whom he had a 4-1 record in 2011,including victories at the Australian Open and US Open.

Federer apologised to the crowd for his quick exit and promised to play better Saturday when he faces Nadal for third place. He said he felt good overall but that he just was unable to chase down Djokovics groundstrokes that repeatedly caught the corners.

He was playing really well. Unfortunately,it was a short-lived match but we know he is a very good front runner. He took the lead in both sets quite early and that made it difficult because conditions were pretty quick and my game was not good enough today to make it more competitive.

Story continues below this ad

Ferrer jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Nadal in their first set,helped by his powerful forehand and some poor serving by his opponent. Nadal got back to 5-3 but Ferrer clinched the first set when Nadal returned a serve into the net. Ferrer started fast again in the second set,taking a 4-0 lead and going on to win the match in 70 minutes when Nadal hit long.