Nadal defeats Federer 7-6, 7-6 in Abu Dhabi exo final

Category: Tennis

Publish Date: 12-31-2010 07:00 PM -0500

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—Top-ranked Rafael Nadal beat his main rival Roger Federer 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) to win the World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi Saturday.

Nadal, who won the tournament last year, came back from 3-0 in the first tiebreaker to win the set helped by several unforced errors from the No. 2 Swiss, including a backhand that went wide and then a forehand long that gave the Spaniard the lead.

The second set was just as tight, with neither player able to break the other. Nadal used his much-improved served and his athleticism to gain the edge. He hit a cross court winner to go up 6-3 and then Federer hit a shot long to Nadal the victory.

Last month, the two split charity matches with Nadal winning a match in Spain and Federer one in Switzerland.

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