Rafael Nadal gets an early New Year opportunity to avenge the worst defeat of his career Saturday when he tackles bitter rival Robin Soderling, the man who dumped him out of the French Open. World No. 2 Nadal was defeated for the first time at Roland Garros in 2009, where he was four-time champion, by the towering Swede, a setback which sent his season into a downward, injury-hit spiral. Nadal, who also lost to Soderling at the ATP World Tour finals in London, gets his chance for revenge when the two meet in the final of the Capitala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition tournament, here Saturday. Soderling made the final by beating world No. 1 Roger Federer 6-7 (8-10), 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 in his semifinal Friday. “I'm very happy to be here in Abu Dhabi, it's the perfect place to prepare for Doha and the Australian Open,” said Nadal who heads for the Qatar Open next week before defending his title in Melbourne. “I feel OK. I had the best five months of my career at the start of 2009 and after that I had a few problems. But anyway I didn't have bad results – I lost in the semifinals in all the tournaments and made one final. It's impossible to be 100 per cent all the time.” Nadal, who beat compatriot David Ferrer 7-6, 6-3 in an all-Spanish semifinal, is without an ATP final since May 2009 with his second half of the season badly-affected by knee tendinitis and a stomach strain. Soderling achieved his first career win over Federer, having lost all previous 12 times they had met, including in the 2009 Roland Garros final. Federer said: “I've known Robin for a while and it was great to see his incredible run at the French Open. I think he's really picked it up and it's great to see. “It was obviously hard starting the year against him in a rematch of Roland Garros. I had fun though.” Soderling and Federer held serve throughout the opening two sets of their match, each winning a tie-breaker, before Soderling broke the Swiss in the third and seventh games of the third set. Last year, Soderling broke into the top 10 on the back of two wins over Nadal. He first beat him in the fourth round of the French Open to end the Spaniard's 31-match winning streak, but went on to lose to Federer in the final. Today's win over Federer was his first in 13 games. “I always said the more times I play him, the closer I'll get, and here I am today. So far so good, but it's going to be a long season for sure, hopefully I'll get to play against Roger a few more times,” said Soderling. “Now when I go out there I feel more confident having beaten all the top guys. I can now believe that I belong up there.” Oudin unafraid of Hopman rivals They'll be the tournament's odd couple on the court but emerging US youngster Melanie Oudin believes she and teammate John Isner can be a threat in the mixed teams Hopman Cup, starting Saturday. The Americans are seeded seventh in the unique eight-nation event, but Oudin showed at last year's US Open and Wimbledon that she was more than capable of springing a surprise. Speaking here Friday, the 18-year-old Oudin said she didn't fear any of her Hopman cup rivals.
