Berdych Sets Nadal Clash; Soderling To Face Federer

© Getty ImagesTomas Berdych will test himself against World No. 1 Rafael Nadal at the exhibition event in Abu Dhabi.

World No. 6 Tomas Berdych will have the chance to test himself against No. 1 Rafael Nadal in a repeat of the Wimbledon final, when the two meet on Friday at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi.

Berdych set up the clash with Nadal after battling past Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 on the opening day of the three-day tournament on Thursday.

“It is the just the perfect start by playing matches like this one and then the next day to play the No. 1 player in the world," said the Czech player, who was beaten by Nadal in his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.

Despite the defeat, Baghdatis, who has worked hard on his fitness during the off-season, was encouraged by his performance ahead of his first outing of the 2011 ATP World Tour season at the Brisbane International, which begins on Sunday.

“This is my first match in two months and to play a top player is not easy," said Baghdatis. “But I am pretty happy with my performance, playing good tennis, moving well on court. There were some moments in the match that I played well."

Nadal, who won the exhibition title last year, was excited by the prospect of the extra match practice ahead of his appearance at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open next week in Doha.

“It’s a pleasure for me to be here in Abu Dhabi. It’s the perfect place to start the new season. All the players here are very good players and I have to play really well to have the chance to meet them in the final match.”

In Thursday’s second match, World No. 5 Robin Soderling withstood the challenge of Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to prevail 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 and set up a meeting with Roger Federer, in what will be a repeat of the 2009 Roland Garros final.

“It is never nice to lose and that is why I will try everything to win,” said Federer, who will join Nadal in Doha next week to begin his 2011 season at the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tournament.

“Winning always gives you a great confidence and I am playing great at the moment and hope that I can keep this up tomorrow and on the following day. I hope I can get two wins this year on the way to Australia despite the difficult and not so simple field.”