Novak Djokovic: Rafael Nadal is striking the ball better

Novak Djokovic admitted that his rival Rafael Nadal has been playing better than last season, following the Serb’s impressive victory over the Spaniard at the recent Qatar Open in Doha.

Djokovic received praises from Nadal after the world No. 1 copped his first title of the season with a 6-1 6-2 victory in the final round of the Qatar Open. The 10-time Grand Slam winner was thankful for Nadal’s quotes of him and put back a comment of his own for the “King of Clay.”

“Obviously, it's flattering to hear something like that from a great champion like Nadal,” Djokovic said, reports Tennis World USA. “He is playing better than he did here last year and he continued on playing on the higher level ever since the US Open and he's been saying that, and me, as his rival, I can confirm that he's striking the ball better.”

Since winning the US Open last year, Djokovic was on a hot streak, winning all six tournaments he competed in. His victories include two final round wins over Roger Federer at the US Open and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in November.

Djokovic is now preparing to defend his title at the 2016 Australian Open, which kicks start next week, against the top tennis players in the world. Seven-time major winner Mats Wilander believes the Australian Open is just the start of Djokovic’s completion of a Grand Slam calendar which the Serb missed last year after losing to Stan Wawrinka at the French Open.

"A lot of people predicted Novak would win all four this year -- and I was one of them," Wilander told ESPN. "I'm doing it again. Yeah, if he wins the Australian, he wins all four.”

Djokovic is most expected to be the top seed at the first Grand Slam event of the year, but he could have a tough road for his first major title of this season, with players stepping up their game.