Rafael Nadal has beaten Gael Monfils in three sets to win the Qatar Open in Doha, giving himself his first title of 2014.
© AFP
The world number one appeared to be too strong for the Frenchman early on, quickly wrapping up the first set 6-1 without facing a break point.
Monfils managed to hit his stride towards the end of the second, recovering from nine double faults with some dogged defending from the back of the court to send the set to a tie-break, which he went on to win and levelling the match in the process.
However, he could not match the Spaniard in the deciding set, presenting him with two match points while serving to stay in contention after yet another double fault.
Nadal needed just the one chance to wrap up the final, picking out the baseline with a cross-court return to give himself his first title at this event.
Sian Cowper
