Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in exhibtion match
World number 1 Novak Djokovic comprehensively beat Rafael Nadal in two sets in an exhibition match organised in Bangkok on Friday. The 28-year Serbian comfortably beat Nadal 6-4 6-2, in a match designed to boost tourism in the Asian country, reports SuperSport.
In a match which Djokovic completely dominated the Spaniard, there were long rallies and the Serbian fired many aces and successfully broke Nadal's serve in the seventh game of the first set to take the lead in the match.
In the second game too, The 10-time Grand Slam champion broke Nadal early and the result of the match was never in doubt after that. The match lasted just over an hour, with Djokovic playing his normal game and making his opponent sweat for every point.
Nadal, who had a forgettable season after failing to qualify to the business end of any of the four Grand Slams, never seemed to trouble his opponent and gave away easy points. In the second set, Nadal gave another break to the Serb, who took advantage of it and sealed the match.
Earlier before the start of the match, both players spent considerable time with Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha. Both players were seen dressed in traditional Thai silk shirts and they also signed a book of well-wishing for the hospitalised Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 87, the world's longest-serving monarch, at the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
The Tennis players also visited the Erawan shrine, the downtown site of the deadly August bomb attack, that saw a dip in Tourism soon after in the region. The Tourism Authority of Thailand released a statement saying the pair had "helped to promote Thailand's tourist credentials", drawing on their star power to show "it's business as usual" in the country, through their exhibition match, which they felt could further improve tourism industry in the country.
This was just another one of Djokovic’s clinical performances, after he had capped off his dream season winning the US Open last month, in addition to his Wimbledon and Australian Open wins, earlier this year. Nadal, on the other hand, has been in the worst of forms, fighting injuries throughout the season and still struggling to beat top-seeded players in big tournaments.