Nadal wins Qatar Open, tops Monfils in 3-set final

Spain’s Rafael Nadal, right, poses with the trophy after winning the final match against France’s Gael Monfils, left, during the ExxonMobil Qatar ATP Open Tennis tournament at the Khalifa Tennis in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014. AP/Osama Faisal

DOHA, Qatar  — Rafael Nadal won his first title of the year by defeating Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2 in an exciting, nearly two-hour final at the Qatar Open on Saturday.

Nadal dominated the first set, taking it in just 23 minutes.

Monfils settled into the match in the second set, initially taking a 3-0 lead. Although Nadal recouped the service break in the seventh game when Monfils netted a backhand, he couldn’t bypass the Frenchman in the tiebreaker.

In the third set, Nadal broke Monfils in the fourth game when the Frenchman shipped two forehands long from 30-30.

He capped off his win by breaking serve again on a second match point in the final game when Monfils sailed a forehand long.