NBA | Page 6 FOOTBALL | Page 10 Butler betters Neville’s To Advertise here Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 a Jordan mark Valencia fi ght as Bulls beat back to deny Raptors 10-man Madrid Tuesday, January 5, 2016 CRICKET Rabia I 25, 1437 AH Determined Amla GULF TIMES returns to form as England toil SPORT Page 4 TENNIS / QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN SPOTLIGHT 2015 in the past, Top seed Djokovic Nadal is focussed breezes past Brown on the new year By Sahan Bidappa “It is obvious that I feel more confi - Doha dent this year but anything can happen. This is sport. Last year I played a great set here in the fi rst round and I lost. But afael Nadal was not in his best I was playing good, no?,” Nadal said of mood yesterday. He had lost his last year’s fi rst round exit in Doha. in season-opener his fi rst match of the new sea- “And then not having an easy year, I son at the Qatar ExxonMobil managed it well because I fi nished in a ROpen, albeit in doubles, and the con- very high position in the rankings. And Unseeded De La Nava ousts Spanish fifth seed Feliciano Lopez stant questioning of his 2015 season especially I fi nished it playing well, made it even worse. no? This year is another year. It’s true The 14-time Grand Slam champion I’m not coming back from injuries, and just won three ATP titles last year, I feel that I worked a lot to be ready to struggling to fi nd his feet after return- begin this one, and I feel I am. I played ing from injury. For the fi rst time since well in Abu Dhabi last week. I am prac- 2004, when he was just 18, the Span- tising well. We start these two days iard failed to reach semifi nals of a major with that wind, but I feel myself ready or the fi nal of a Masters event. He also for this season. The expectations are dropped out of the top fi ve for the fi rst the normal ones, positive ones, because time since 2005. I feel that I fi nished the past season So it’s obvious, Nadal is looking for- playing well and I feel that I am playing ward to 2016 for resurgence. But the well again. We’ll see,” he explained. question is will the Mallorcan get back So is there any one goal for the new to his best, even as he turns 30 this year? “You never will hear from me June. In the past, he has always fol- talking about one particular goal, be- lowed a slide with a strong comeback cause at the end of the day in tennis, and that has seen him get back to No 1. we have tournaments every week, and But 2015 was diff erent, where he everybody knows what they want to struggled with confi dence and his fe- achieve and everybody knows what rocious forehand, failed to hold up af- are the things that I want to do. But my ter a wrist injury that forced him out of motivation is Doha now and then it’s action in 2014. He even lost a two-set going to be Melbourne. That’s it. I can- lead at a major for the fi rst time at the not think farther than that,” Nadal said. US Open. Players tend to evolve as they get So it’s quite understandable, Nadal older and spend lot of time playing a wants to move on from those not-so- sport. The World No 5 said he too was fond memories of 2015. “Seriously, working on mental and physical as- I’m a little bit tired of talking every day pects of the game during off season. about 2015. We are in 2016 already, no? “All my life I worked with the highest We talked enough about 2015, and I intensity possible, but we worked a lit- talked enough about all the things that tle bit diff erently (this time). We tried happened,” Nadal snapped back to re- to fi nd diff erent positions on court, to porters in Doha, having given enough play more on the inside and worked a explanation of his downturn. lot on the return too,” Nadal went on. “I have been very honest in all the “The way that I approach the game press conferences, without lying or not is what I worked on too, things that saying things that really happened to me. are needed to be a better player. That’s I have been very open about talking all the only thing. We analysed what hap- the things that were going on during the pened last year a little bit, and in tennis year. But we are in 2016, and 2015 is past. the mental part is another story. But in In 2014 when I was here, after winning a terms of tennis we analysed what we lot in 2013, I was not talking a lot about need to do to be very competitive this 2013. The real thing is all the victories in year,” Nadal said. the past we are not talking about (them) Nadal is a 2008 Olympic tennis gold Novak Djokovic serves during his Qatar ExxonMobil Open first round match against Dustin Brown at Khalifa Tennis Complex yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil and we are not talking about all the de- medallist, but missed the London 2012 feats of last year, because that’s past. Olympics for health reasons. Despite By Sahan Bidappa latter has been in recent times. body in the right shape, and I think it nering countryman Verdasco, the What really is important is what’s going the Rio Olympics being played this Doha Playing his third game in as many was a very good start,” he added. Spaniards lost to Russia’s Teymuraz to happen tomorrow. That is I am playing year, Nadal said he wouldn’t approach days, having had to come through The World No. 1, who had lost to Ivo Gabashvili and Albert Ramos-Vinolas my fi rst (singles) match of the year, and I the year any diff erently. qualifying, Brown struggled in chilly Karlovic in the quarter-fi nals last year of Spain 6-7 (4), 6-4, 11-9 on the cen- am motivated for that,” the Spaniard hit “The fact this is an Olympic year re- here was a moment in the sec- conditions. Djokovic raced to a 5-0 on his fi rst visit to Doha, was happy tre court. back. ally doesn’t change anything. When ond set when Novak Djokovic lead breaking the German twice, be- with the smooth start to the season. Nadal is seeded second in Doha, Nadal sees things improving for the Olympics arrive, we are going to slipped while stretching for a fore Brown held on to his serve in the “Honestly, the match went very quick, having won here in 2014. He opens him this season. He had saved his best be ready for it. The motivation to play forehand. There was a collec- sixth game. In the next game, Brown so we didn’t have many exchanges, the 2016 season today with a match for last in 2015, when he reached two Olympics will be amazing, but for the Ttive sigh from the crowd, which had broke Djokovic’s serve to show signs many rallies. I thought what I have against fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno semi-fi nals and fi nals after the third moment, I am focused on Qatar now,” poured in to watch the World No 1 in of a comeback but the top seed closed done well was staying in the match Busta, whom he has beaten in the only round exit from the US open and his said Nadal, who will open his singles action at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open out the set duly by breaking back, as each point, not really allowing my- time they have faced each other. contemporaries expect him to bounce campaign against countryman Pablo yesterday. the German double-faulted twice. self to get distracted or to allow him “Well, I have been winning here back strongly. Carreno Busta today. Djokovic paused for a bit, held his In the second set at 2-2, Djokovic to start manoeuvring and playing the a lot of years in doubles. Hopefully knee and got up gingerly. His op- broke in the fourth game to end the way he wants. that’s the good news that I lost this ponent Dustin Brown too was con- contest without much sweat even as “I was getting a lot of returns back time in doubles, so I hope to be ready cerned. However, Djokovic got back to Brown committed his fourth double in play. I thought return was well. for singles. In today’s match we had a his feet and dominated the game as he fault to hand the match to the Serbian. Serve was very effi cient. And of course lot of chances but it was not our day to had done all evening and the whole of “It’s been six weeks since I played the there were a few shots that I missed, win,” the World No 5 said. last year. last match, so I was very excited to go but all in all, it was a straight-sets win, The opening night also saw a shock The 10-time Grand Slam champion back to the court and compete and see a comfortable win,” said Djokovic, result, when unseeded Daniel Munoz needed just 51 minutes at the Khalifa how I go,” said Djokovic after the victory.