• Mubadala Tennis Championship

Djokovic destroys Ferrer to reach Abu Dhabi final

ESPN staff
December 28, 2012

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Novak Djokovic fired an early statement of intent as he thrashed David Ferrer in his opening match of the new season.

The world No. 1 hit the ground running at the Mubadala Tennis Championship with a resounding 6-0 6-3 victory to book his place in the final.

Ferrer had looked impressive as he dispatched Tomas Berdych in straight sets on Thursday, but he was second best to Djokovic, the defending champion in Abu Dhabi.

Having failed to hold serve in the opening set, Ferrer grabbed an early break in second, but Djokovic roared back, winning four games on the bounce to seal an emphatic victory.

While rival Andy Murray looked rusty as he fell to Janko Tipsarevic in straight sets, Djokovic had no such problems as he romped through the opening set without dropping a game.

Two double faults and two unforced errors gifted Ferrer an early break, but he responded immediately to streak to victory. Although the Spaniard provided greater resistance in the second set, he struggled to cope with the fast court.

Djokovic, who will attempt to defend his Australian Open title in Melbourne next month, will now face Nicolas Almagro in the final.

Almagro, a late replacement for Rafael Nadal who was forced to delay his long-awaited comeback with a virus, defeated another Serbian, Janko Tipsarevic, 2-6 7-6(3) 6-2 to progress to the showdown with Djokovic.

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