World number one Rafael Nadal has made a winning start to the new year by clinching the Qatar Open on Saturday following his 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 over France's Gael Monfils.
It was the Spaniard's 61st career title and took him to eighth on the all-time list, passing US legend Andre Agassi.
According to Sport24, Nadal, who was runner-up to Russia's Nikolay Davydenko in 2010, took his record over Monfils to 9-2 with the Frenchman having achieved both his wins over the Spaniard in Doha, in 2009 and 2012.
It was a fine start for Nadal to a year in which he hopes to ward off Serbian Novak Djokovic's challenge for the world number one spot, and in a month when he hopes to regain the Australian Open title after a five-year interval, the report added.
