Roger Federer moved ahead of John McEnroe in the all-time list of tournament winners with the 78th singles title of his career, by winning the Dubai Duty Free Championships for the sixth time in his career, and he believes his decision to opt for a bigger racket was crucial.
Now only Jimmy Connors with 109 titles and Ivan Lendl (94) remain above 32 year-old Swiss who had not got his hands on a trophy since Halle last June.
Federer now ties the feat of Lendl in becoming only the second man to win at least one title on the ATP World Tour for the 14 years in succession. And he maintained the victory is perfect to help his self-belief going into a tough schedule that starts with the Indian Wells/Miami spring double in the United States before the European clay court season.
Back to back wins over world no.2 Novak Djokovic and then world no.6 Tomas Berdych in the final were each achieved after going a set behind and Federer said: “This week it was one of those weeks. Honestly I think this is how you win your first title again after a while.
“True, I got a little lucky at times but overall I fought well and stayed calm when it really mattered. Things definitely went my way out there, but I’ve had a lot tougher matches in the last one‑and‑a‑half years, so this is nice to get a lucky break again. I was able to deliver when I had to and hopefully from here on, it’s easier.”
The title was Federer’s first with his new larger head racket and he maintained: “It was a switch I wanted to do for a long time. I tried a racket in Hamburg and Gstaad last year, and felt it was a good one but wasn’t quite what I liked the most. It just felt totally different to what I was playing with before.
“This one is in between, that and my old one, and I like the changes Wilson was able to come up with. I’m happy that the results are paying off, especially in quick succession. I have only just switched, and here I am, already got to the finals in Brisbane, semis at the Australian Open, won my Davis Cup match, and now here I am with a trophy.
“So now it’s not in the back of my mind anymore: is this racket good or not? I was convinced in the practice, but then you hope that the results are going to follow and they did.”
Topics: 10sballs, Atp World Tour, Dubai, Indian Wells, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, John Mcenroe, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis, Tomas Berdych
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