Novak Djokovic started the 2016 where he had left in 2015: winning and outplaying his competition. While Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had left London and the O2 Arena saying that it was going to be hard for the Serb to keep the level up for so long, Novak took the time off the recharge his batteries and look fresh and strong at the start of the new season.
After losing 6-1 6-2 the final in Doha against the Serb, Rafael Nadal was quite honest in his press conference.
“There is not much you can do when your opponent plays like that. He was just perfect. I have never seen someone playing at this level, and I have been following the sport for many years now. I don’t feel frustrated after the match, is not like I feel in a rush to win, I have 14 Grand Slams not zero or one. The priority for me is to be happy while doing what I do. We will see if Novak will play like this in two weeks, or in 5 months, but all you can do is wait and see” said the Spaniard.
On his plan to beat the Serb in the future, after losing 5 times in a row against the world No.1 Rafael said:
“You have two choices: either you get frustrated and you give up, or you wait. And I am going to wait. Obviously I am going to work hard to be ready for when the opportunity comes. To play against Novak in these conditions, with him playing like this, it was almost impossible for me to beat him today. I know I can do some things better, and I am going to work on that as well”.
Despite the loss, Rafael concluded his season has started on the right path and he is going to work hard to be ready for the Australian Open.
