Rafael Nadal secures third place at Mubadala World Tennis Championship

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  • Rafael Nadal looked in convincing form on Saturday when he beat Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.

    Rafael Nadal secured third place in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship after defeating Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (1), 6-3 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

    After news of the withdrawal of Novak Djokovic from the final broke out at Zayed Sports City, the onus was on Nadal and Wawrinka to delight the crowds and for a majority of the one hour and 27 minute encounter, they delivered some high-quality tennis.

    It was a rematch of last year’s Australia Open final, which Wawrinka won to clinch his maiden grand slam title, and the duo were keen on getting a win under their belt before officially inaugurating their 2015 season on Monday in Doha and Chennai.

    Nadal put pressure on the Wawrinka serve early on, getting two break points in the opening game and the Spaniard converted on his second chance.

    But a long forehand from Nadal helped the world No4 strike right back to draw level, showcasing glimpses of his magical one-handed backhand.

    Nadal got another break in game five when he charged the net, forcing a wide backhand passing shot attempt from his opponent and the world No3 inched ahead 3-2.

    A poor smash in the following game from Nadal gave Wawrinka two break points and the pair were back on serve once again when the 14-time major champion netted a slice backhand.

    Wawrinka saved a break point in the ninth game by attacking Nadal’s backhand and clung on to hold for 5-4.

    With the pressure on him to hold to stay alive in the opening set, Nadal found his first ace of the match and he held serve courtesy of a couple of unforced errors from Wawrinka.

    Nadal opened up a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak as Wawrinka’s down the line forehand continued to land just wide.

    The Mallorcan was soon up 6-1 and he grabbed the opening set on an erroneous backhand from Wawrinka.

    Nadal carried the momentum into the second set, breaking to lead 2-0, but Wawrinka pulled off a sensational drop volley to get three break points in game three.

    The Swiss No2 broke back with a crisp backhand that clipped the line.

    Wawrinka was broken again though in the sixth game on a loose forehand.

    The 29-year-old saved two match points in game nine and suddenly found himself up a break point. But Nadal saved it with a remarkable backhand passing shot winner.

    And Nadal sealed his victory on his third match point with a service winner to secure third place in the championship.

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