"It was not a bad match for me," said the 20-time Grand Slam winner. "It is special to be back in competition at a place I enjoy a lot. "It had been a while since we played against each other - I am happy to see Andy playing at this level after everything he went through."
The British has reached the final of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship after defeating Nadal in straight sets.
He will now play Andrey Rublev on Saturday (18th December).