ABU DHABI: Novak Djokovic showed he remains the player to beat this year, routing David Ferrer 6-2, 6-1 on Saturday to win the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament.
The top-ranked Djokovic also beat Gael Monfils and then crushed Roger Federer en route to his first Abu Dhabi title.
The fifth-ranked Ferrer had upset world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semis but couldn't find an answer for Djokovic, who broke the Spaniard five times and took 3-0 leads in both sets.
Earlier, Nadal shook off an ailing shoulder to beat Federer 6-1, 7-5 to claim third place in the $250,000 winner-takes-all, six-man tournament, which is treated as a warm-up for the new ATP season. Second-ranked Nadal has been nursing a sore shoulder since the end of last season and lost to Ferrer in the semi-finals on Friday, but looked back to his old self against Federer.
He took a 3-0 lead in the first and was never seriously threatened by his Swiss rival, who was routed by Djokovic in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, world No. 4 Andy Murray appointed Czech legend Ivan Lendl as his full-time coach on Saturday. Murray, 24, has been working without a permanent coach since March, when he parted company with Alex Corretja, but he will join forces with Lendl immediately in the build-up to this month's Australian Open.
Lendl's appointment suggests Murray is determined to do everything possible to end his long wait for a first grand slam title.
Murray has lost three grand slam finals and, although he reached the semi-finals of all four majors last season, he is still searching for his first title at one of the sport's four annual big ones.
Lendl, 51, knows what it takes to succeed at the highest level, having won eight grand slam crowns during his illustrious career, and Murray believes Lendl's wealth of experience will be a significant asset. ''Ivan's impact on the game is unquestionable and he brings experience and knowledge that few others have,'' Murray said.
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