Rafael Nadal beat Milos Raonic 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the final of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Saturday (2nd January) in Abu Dhabi.

Rafael Nadal made slick work of his fourth Mubadala World Tennis Championship final: he beat Milos Raonic 7-6 (2), 6-3 to take the title for the third time on Saturday (2nd January).

The Spaniard found his trip to Abu Dhabi the perfect season preparation and overcame the 25-year-old Canadian with imperious form.

Clinical serving and groundstrokes from the older man handed him the tiebreak 7-2, after a first set in which Raonic matched him shot-for-shot.

While Raonic heads to Brisbane to try and improve on his injury-hit 2015, the champion is off to Doha, to open his 2016 ATP season at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

After an underperforming 2015, Nadal is seeded second for the ATP 250 event and will take on compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round.