Rafael Nadal overcame arch rival Roger Federer in the third-place playoff at the exhibition Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.

The pair had both lost their semi-finals yesterday, with Nadal going down to compatriot David Ferrer while world number one Novak Djokovic breezed past Swiss great Federer.

Spaniard Nadal raced into an early 3-0 lead and despite Federer winning the next he could only watch on as the world number two closed out the opener 6-1.

The second was much more even with both men making more errors. Nadal made the first break in the third game but Federer responded to keep the set level.

After an eight-minute 11th game Nadal secured the breakthrough to lead 6-5 and went on to finish the game with a trademark in-to-out forehand.

The duo next head to Doha for the first official tournament of 2012 before the first Grand Slam in Australia later in January.

Djokovic and Ferrer meet in the final of the Mubadala event later this afternoon.