Murray battles to win over Nadal

Murray lost his first five matches against Nadal

Andy Murray completed his preparation for the new tennis season with a hugely encouraging win over world number one Rafael Nadal in Abu Dhabi.

The British number one followed up Friday's defeat of Roger Federer with a 6-4 5-7 6-3 win over Nadal in the final of the exhibition tournament.

Murray collects US$250,000 for winning the event but beating Nadal and Federer will be of greater satisfaction.

"It was tough match, he made me do a lot of running," said the Scot.

"It was a great match for both of us."

While the victory will not count towards Murray's world ranking or his head-to-head record against Nadal, it will give him a major boost ahead of the season proper, which begins next week.

Having beaten Federer for the fifth time in the semi-finals he took the opportunity to rack up a second straight win over Nadal, following his US Open semi-final victory in September.

The Spaniard retains an impressive 5-1 lead over Murray in competitive meetings but the Briton is very much a contender for the major titles now, starting with this month's Australian Open.