‘I was surprised at how well I played’ – Rafael Nadal shakes off shorter break to dominate in Dubai

Rafael Nadal powered his way past Karen Khachanov at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship to set up a final against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Spaniard never looked in any difficulties at all as he effortlessly continued the momentum that saw him enjoy a title-laden second half of the year.

“It’s nice to play some good tennis, I did almost every right,” Nadal said after the 6-1, 6-3 win.

“I was a little surprised by how well I played, and I hope to be able to have one more good match tomorrow in the final.”

It was a continuation of the recent form that saw Nadal finish the 2019 as the world number one, and he is happy to be back on court again despite such a short rest period.

“I played a good level of tennis tonight, better than what I thought.

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“I was playing well at the end of the season, which was just 15 days ago when I was winning the Davis Cup.

“The break went quick. On one side it could be negative that we didn’t have a lot of time to rest, but on the other hand I finished the season playing well, which helps me to keep going”

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