DOHA, Qatar — Novak Djokovic will play Rafael Nadal in the final of the Qatar Open after he beat third-seeded Tomas Berdych in the semifinals Friday.
Top-seeded Djokovic beat Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-6 (3) after Nadal had advanced to his 99th career final by defeating Illya Marchenko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4.
Djokovic and Nadal are tied at 23 matches apiece in their career head-to-head.
Djokovic won all four of their 2015 meetings without dropping a set. The last time Nadal defeated the Serbian player was the 2014 French Open final.
It will be Nadal's first hard court final in 18 hard court tournaments since he won the 2014 Qatar Open title.