Even Roger Federer Can’t Believe How Badly Novak Djokovic Beat Rafael Nadal In Doha
After a tough loss to Milos Raonic in the Brisbane final Saturday, Roger Federer commented on the lopsided 61, 62 demolition win by Novak Djokovic over Rafael Nadal in the Doha title match.
The three games were the fewest Nadal’s ever won against Djokovic in 47 career meetings.
“That kind of a scoreline is always a surprise between two top guys,” Federer said. “You rarely see blowouts, so to some extent it’s surprising for sure. That Novak wins maybe not so much because he’s been on a roll for a while now.
“But I don’t know how fast Doha plays anymore. Haven’t been there in a while. Usually it’s quite slow. Once you get the upper hand from the baseline, mmm, it’s tough all of a sudden. Then these results happen like we’ve seen at the World Tour Finals when we’ve seen blowouts between the top guys as well.
“That’s because these kind of courts sometimes allows that to happen, whoever takes the upper hand from the baseline then destroys the other guy. So, yeah, different continent, different playing in Australia, but, yeah, of course he’s the favorite for the Australian Open. Plus he’s played there well historically as well.”
This week, Federer is hopeful to rid himself of a minor cold that picked up.
“I’ve still got a cough and the throat is a bit weird. Definitely got to make sure I get over it as quickly as possible. As long as I keep on playing and doing all that stuff it’s not going to go away faster. So I am going to rest up tomorrow.
“The good thing is the off-season was great. I have a base there, so I think within three, four days I should be back at 100%, if things progress normally, which I think they are now, because 90% is passed now, which is a good thing.”
The Swiss will be the second third seed at the Australian Open which begins next Monday. He won the title there most recently in 2010.
You Might Like:
Djokovic Follows Nadal Out Of The Doha Draw; Federer Survives In Three In Brisbane
Rafael Nadal: I Don’t Know If I Can Beat Novak Djokovic
2015 January Schedules: Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray
Despite The Loss To Karlovic, Novak Djokovic Says He Still Had A “Good Week” In Doha
Bautista Agut Beats Berdych For Doha Crown, 9th Career Title