Novak Djokovic showed he remains the player to beat in 2012, routing David Ferrer 6-2, 6-1 Saturday to win the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament. The top-ranked Djokovic also beat Gael Monfils and then routed Roger Federer en route to his first Abu Dhabi title. The fifth-ranked Ferrer had upset second-ranked 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. The second-ranked Nadal 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 badly beaten by Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. The third-ranked Federer struggled with unforced errors and an inconsistent serve, but put up a harder fight in the second set until Nadal clinched the win with a blistering forehand into the corner. “It was a positive match,” said Nadal, who plans to take a break after the Australian Open to rest his shoulder. Federer downplayed the two losses this week, insisting he was feeling good and that the time on the court will serve him well ahead of the first tournament of the new ATP season, in DohaQatar next week. France beats China Chinese star Li Na asserted she is back in form after beating world No. 9 Marion Bartoli in three sets in the singles opening match at the Hopman Cup mixed teams tournament in Perth. This year's French Open champion put a poor finish in her 2011 campaign behind her to beat Bartoli 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 on New Year's Eve. But the French fought back to level the tie when world No. 19 Richard Gasquet cruised past Chinese youngster Wu Di in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. And the second-seeded French pair won the tie by easily claiming the deciding mixed doubles match with a 6-1, 6-1 win.
