(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal cruised into the quarter-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open yesterday, opening up the enticing prospect of a title clash between two of the sport's greatest stars in history.
At the Khalifa Complex, the two put on a masterclass, giving a glimpse of what to expect this week, and maybe even this season.
Djokovic was first to take the centre court and the World No.1 didn't waste much time in swatting aside Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-2. Thereafter, Nadal joined in the fun as he scored an equally impressive win over Robin Hasse of Germany 6-3, 6-2. In today's last quarter-final matches, Djokovic will face eighth-seeded Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, while Nadal plays Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov.
It was a dominant performance from the two in markedly calm conditions, which helped them in expressing themselves on the court by playing a wide array of shots.
Once a top-10 player, Verdasco has dropped to No. 45 in the world. And the reason for that showed in his game as he repeatedly hit his forehand long, making it easier for Djokovic to finish the match in one hour nine minutes.
Djokovic, who won three Grand Slams and six Masters titles in 2015, now has dropped just four games into the new season in his first two matches. The 28-year-old has won 19 consecutive matches versus left-handers; his last loss to a lefty came against Nadal in the 2014 French Open final. He's also on a 17-match winning streak against Spanish players dating back to a 2014 loss to Tommy Robredo. And he showed no signs of slowing down yesterday.
Watched by his wife Jelena and coach Boris Becker, a former champion here in 1993, Djokovic broke Verdasco to take a 3-1 lead. He won eight of his next 10 service points before breaking again to take the opening set in 31 minutes.
In the second set, Verdasco had couple of chances to force a break but the Spaniard continued to hit long and was anguished with himself. Soon enough, Djokovic closed out the match in style, whipping a crosscourt forehand to improve his record to 8-4 over Verdasco.
"Very pleased with the way I have started this season, two matches, straight sets," said Djokovic later. "Tonight it was tougher than the first round. Obviously I expected that. The scoreline was the same, but still I had to work for the win, especially in the second set. There were a couple of close games."
Nadal, meanwhile looked much better that his first round win over fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, to whom he conceded the first set. Against Hasse, the World No. 5 looked in control right from the start.
In their lone prior meeting at the 2010 Wimbledon, Nadal had rallied from a two sets to one deficit to beat Haase. Yesterday, he moved well from the beginning as he broke the Dutch's serve in the second game and never let his opponent even have a sniff as he won in 65 minutes.
"A good match, good performance. I think I played at very high level against a player, who I think played well for a lot of moments. He played with not many mistakes and was serving well," said Nadal.
"I think I returned well tonight. And the serve was a little bit worse than yesterday, but in general, I played much better than yesterday, no? So very happy with the victory and with the level of tennis," the 14-time Grand Slam champion added.
Meanwhile, third seed Tomas Berdych also entered the quarterfinals after the Czech swept aside Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-0, 6-4 in a late-night match. Berdych will next play qualifier Kyle Edmund of Great Britain. Edmund carried his good qualifying form as he came back from a set down to beat Daniel Munoz De La Nava of Spain 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (3). In an all-French clash, Jeremy Chardy beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 6-4. He will next face David Ferrer slayer Ukraine's Illya Marchenko, who put it past Teymuraz Gabashvili of Ukraine 6-4, 6-2.
Results (round of 16)
1-Novak Djokovic (SRB) bt Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-2, 6-2; 2-Rafael Nadal (ESP) bt Robin Haase (NED) 6-3, 6-2; 7-Jeremy Chardy (FRA) bt Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 6-2, 6-4; 8-Leonardo Mayer (ARG) bt Pablo Andujar (ESP) 6-2, 6-4; Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) bt Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 7-6 (6), 6-1; Illya Marchenko (UKR) bt Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 6-4, 6-2; 3-Tomas Berdych (CZE) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-0, 6-4; (Q) Kyle Edmund (GBR) bt Daniel Munoz De La Nava 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Today's order of play
Singles Quarterfinals
Centre Court starts at 3:30 pm
[7] J. Chardy (FRA) vs I. Marchenko (UKR)
A. Kuznetsov (RUS) vs [2] R. Nadal (ESP)
[1] N. Djokovic (SRB) vs [8] L. Mayer (ARG)
[3] T. Berdych (CZE) vs K. Edmund (GBR)
Court 1 starts 4:00 pm
[1] J. Rojer (NED) / H. Tecau (ROU) vs [4] P. Petzschner (GER) / A. Peya (AUT)
[3] F. Lopez (ESP) / M. Lopez (ESP) vs [2] J. Murray (GBR) / B. Soares (BRA)
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