World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who made his debut at Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Thursday, thoroughly entertained the capacity crowd at a beautiful Abu Dhabi stadium during his opening match against Frenchman Gael Monfils. But just when it looked that the contest might slip away from his hand, the Serbian showed why he is No. 1 at the moment and played some mind-boggling shots on both sides of the court to subdue Monfils. Well, the message is loud and clear that Djokovic is as fresh as morning dew and as hungry as he has had been throughout the 2011 Season to WIN.

The Serbian next faces World No. 3 Roger Federer in the semi-final match of this exhibition tournament. Both Federer and Nadal have been playing directly in the semi-finals of this three-day tournament. Though, it is a high-prized exhibition tournament, we will experience same sort of intensity and momentum, when Federer and Djokovic will take on each other.

Considering the present state-of-affairs then Novak Djokovic apparently appears way ahead of other contenders. The Serbian has had a dream run in 2011 with a 70-6 win-loss record and he finished the season with 10 titles, including 3 Grand Slams and a record five ATP World Tour Masters titles. Interestingly, two of those losses came when Djokovic retired from the matches. Undoubtedly, it is easy to deduce that the Serbian has been enjoying a devastating form and now that he has taken a decent break from tennis – we can expect him to go full throttle with all the energy and stamina.

On the other hand, Roger Federer is the man, who snapped Djokovic’s 41 matches winning streak in 2011 when he beat him in the semi-final at Roland Garros. Federer did not look near to his best throughout the early part of the season, but as the ATP World Tour reached its final stages, he rebounded nicely and ended up winning three titles in a row – including season ending ATP World Tour finals in London. The Swiss Ace is currently enjoying a 17 matches winning streak, which says a lot about his form. Hopefully, a good break of tennis wouldn’t have affected the form of this defiant Swiss, who has won record sixteen Major titles in his illustrious career.

In head-to-head, Federer leads with 14-10. Last time they met in the US Open semis this year, where Djokovic rallied past the Swiss in five gruelling sets. Brace yourself for another tremendous battle.