World number one Novak Djokovic comfortably beat his
out-of-form rival Rafael Nadal on Friday at an exhibition match in the
Thai capital designed to boost tourism in the junta-ruled nation.
The
Serb, 28, cruised through the best-of-three-set contest at Hua Mark
Indoor Stadium in eastern Bangkok, winning 6-4, 6-2, in the sponsored
event also broadcast live on local television.
There
were few long rallies in the service-dominated match, lasting just over
an hour, with the Spaniard opening serve before being broken in the
seventh game.
Djokovic dominated, successfully serving for the first set and securing an early break in the opening game of the second.
Nadal
-- who ended the season without a Grand Slam title for the first time
since 2004 -- failed to challenge his longstanding rival and was broken
for a second time in the final set before the Serb sealed his win.
The
leading tennis stars spent longer in official engagements than on the
court on Friday, earlier meeting Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, who
seized power from an elected government as then-army chief in a military
coup last May.
Their Thai tour also included a visit to
the Erawan shrine, the downtown site of the deadly August bomb attack
that launched a fresh blow to the kingdom's reputation as a tourism
haven after last year's coup and the anti-government protests which
preceded it.
On Friday the Tourism Authority of Thailand
released a statement saying the pair had "helped to promote Thailand's
tourist credentials", drawing on their star power to show "it's business
as usual" in the country.
Story: AFP / Coconuts
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