Djokovic to play Nadal in final of Qatar Open

"I played against a player who did everything ideal". "You know, that would be something very extraordinary, but it is possible". Of course, Roger (Federer) and Rafa (Nadal) were in similar situations.

Djokovic vs Nadal is slated to start at 6 pm local time (8:30 pm IST, 3 pm GMT). Without any doubt, he is the number one player winning three Grand Slams in 2015 and reached the final of this one.

Djokovic will aim to retain the Australian Open crown in Melbourne where he has won half of his 10 major titles.

Spain's Rafael Nadal returns the ball during a match against Andrey Kuznetsov of Russian Federation at Qatar Open tennis tournament Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Doha, Qatar. In beating those four opponents, he has not dropped a set. Djokovic's victor output exceeded the total points Nadal won (13) in the first set. The Serbian broke in the second and sixth games and closed the set out to love.

Mayer took a 2-0 lead in the first set, but Djokovic responded by winning the next four games and a third break of serve wrapped up the opener.

Playing to a high level and trading well from the back of the court, Djokovic came from a break down in the second set and actually served for it before Nadal closed out to claim the title. Nadal has not defeated the world No. 1 on a hard court since the 2013 U.S. Open title match, a span of five such matches. "That happens when you are fresh mentally, when you are able to analyse well what's going on in the match".

On the other hand, Berdych, the third seed in the tournament, booked a date with Djokovic in the semifinal after running away with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Kyle Edmund in the quarterfinal.

After the match, Nadal showed a sense of humor addressing the fan directly and telling the crowd: "I found a new coach tonight".

Djokovic continued to apply pressure on Nadal, suffocating the Spaniard from the baseline with a ruthless display of aggression.

"I played pretty much ideal tennis to day".

Nadal's serve dominated throughout against a player who had knocked out the reigning champion and number four seed David Ferrer in round one.

The Spaniard's nerve complimented his play in a match where his focus never wavered and his foot stuck to the pedal, beating outsider Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Friday.

• Britain's Cameron in Germany to pursue quest for EU changes

• South Korea resumes propaganda broadcasts into the North

• Miami Dolphins Hire Adam Gase as Head Coach