Murray, Djokovic dominate in day two of the MWTC

Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic dominate; will face off in the Mubadala final

Day 2 of the Mubadala World Tennis Championships got off to a great start for one

, who struggled in his opening round match Thursday.

Murray took on Rafael Nadal, who was playing his first match in several months and first since having his appendix removed. The Spaniard was just not fully in the match and looked extremely rusty as he lost his serve in his opening game.

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In the third game of the match and Murray’s second service game, Nadal fought hard bringing the game to deuce. After blowing three break point opportunities, Nadal fell into an early 3-0 hole.

In the next game of the set, Nadal finally held, yet he looked troubled by Murray’s effortless movement across the court. After Rafa made a few unforced errors, Murray converted on set point to break the world No. 3, 6-2 Murray.

The second set was even more lopsided, as Murray held and quickly broke on a double fault by Nadal. However, Nadal refused to go away and secured three break points. Murray persevered and held onto his serve to go up 3-0.

The Scot once again attacked Nadal’s serve, getting another break. Murray was simply too much for a rusty Nadal. Nadal fans should not be too worried considering it was his first match back and it was against Andy Murray of all people. Despite the scoreline, Nadal played tough, he just wasn’t able to convert break points.

Murray will go on to play Novak Djokovic in the finals tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET.

3 Rafael Nadal (ESP)	2	0
6 Andy Murray (GBR)	6	6

The second match of the day, was just as lopsided as the first. Novak Djokovic rolled comfortably as he thrashed Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.

After both players held to start the match, Djokovic got the early break of serve to go up 3-1. Novak never looked back, holding quickly to go up 4-1 and then broke Stan’s serve again to increase his lead to 5-1.

Shortly after the break of serve, Djokovic received some brief medical attention from the trainer. Meanwhile, the crowd got a little enjoyment out of an otherwise let down of a match when Wawrinka rallied with a Mubadala ball boy.

Courtesy of MWTC twitter account

After the medical timeout to help take care of a right thumb injury, Djokovic held comfortably to take the first set 6-1.

The Serb continued his dominance, breaking in the first game of the second set, but quickly faced resistance in his first service game. Wawrinka grabbed two break opportunities, but to no avail as Djokovic won four points in a row to hold. Djokovic up 2-0.

Despite numerous attempts to slow Nole’s charge, Wawrinka could do nothing more than barely hold his serve. Djokovic cruised along winning the second set 6-2 in just over a half-hour.

1 Novak Djokovic (SRB)	6	6
4 Stan Wawrinka (SUI)	1	2

Novak and Andy will meet in tomorrow’s final as the Mubadala World Tennis Championships conclude from Abu Dhabi. This match will look to be a good one, with both men giving dominating performances on Friday.

Stay tuned to Lob and Smash for the championship match (10 a.m. ET) recap tomorrow.

Next: Lob and Smash 2015 Grand Slam Predictions

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