International Sports Desk, Jan 9 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).- Serbian world No. 1 Novak Djokovic trounced Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-2 in Saturday’s final of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open to capture the 60th title of his career and edge ahead of the Spaniard in their career head-to-head for the first time.

Nadal fought hard to make the match competitive but was unable to control his service games, while Djokovic’s ability to change the direction of the ball from the baseline repeatedly caught the world No. 5 off-guard.

For the match, Nadal won just 46 percent of his service points and was broken four times, twice in each set, while Djokovic staved off the lone break point he faced – in the opening game – and won 77 percent of his service points.

Djokovic, who captured his first Doha title in just his second appearance at this event, finally inched ahead of Nadal 24-23 in their career head-to-head and has now won nine of their last 10 matches, with the only loss coming in the 2014 French Open final.

Nadal, winner of 67 titles in his career, has now failed to win a hard-court tournament for two full years – since the 2014 Doha event.

But of much greater concern for Nadal was his inability to make any impression Saturday on the world No. 1, who scored his most lopsided straight-set victory in a decade-long rivalry that the Spaniard used to dominate.

Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, and Djokovic, a 10-time major winner, competed in Doha as part of their preparations for the Australian Open, which gets underway on Jan. 18. EFE

Betting volume for this match was substantial, according to Pay-Per-Head (PPH) provider IDSca.com, based in Costa Rica. Odds makers had picked Djokovic to take Doha at 1/5 while Nadal’s odds were set at 37/10.

IDSca.com has observed a significant increase in tennis betting over the last few years. Since 2012, betting volume on major tennis matches has been expanding by 50 percent each year.