Rafael Nadal takes first title of new year
RAFAEL Nadal won the Capitala World Tennis Championships with a 7-6, 7-5 victory over Sweden's Robin Soderling in Abu Dhabi.
Nadal took revenge for his loss to Soderling in the French Open last year in a hard-fought final.
The Spaniard won the first set in a tie-break and Soderling continued to put up a tough fight in the second as he came from 4-2 down to tie it 4-4. He held serve to survive a first time but not a second as Nadal wore down his resistance.
Roger Federer bounced back from losing to Soderling on Saturday to dispatch David Ferrer 6-1, 7-5 and claim third place in the tournament.