FEDERER FLIES INTO DUBAI SEMIS, JOINS DJOKOVIC AND CORIC BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: on 26th February 2015
Dubai Tennis ATP Championships
FEDERER FLIES INTO DUBAI SEMIS, JOINS DJOKOVIC AND CORIC BY RICKY DIMON

epa04637176 Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball to Fernando Verdasco of Spain during the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 25 February 2015. EPA/ALI HAIDER  |

Federer flies into Dubai semis, joins Djokovic, Berdych, and Coric

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

Roger Federer lost only one game to Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday. Of course, he only had to play one set.

 

Gasquet retired due to a back problem after Federer stormed through the opening frame 6-1. They had spent a mere 20 minutes on court.

 

“I think I played well,” the 33-year-old Swiss suggested. “I served well. Then again, the test was so short that it’s tough to judge on a 20-minute match. But I think I was hitting the ball well again, like yesterday. I felt able to play aggressive and do what I was hoping to do. So I was very pleased, actually.”

 

Borna Coric of Croatia celebrates after beating Andy Murray of Britain in their quarter final match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 26 February 2015. EPA/ALI HAIDER

Next up for Federer is surprising semifinalist Borna Coric, who got into the main draw as a lucky loser and stunned Andy Murray 6-1, 6-3 on Thursday.

 

After losing a qualifying match to Fabrice Martin, Coric benefited from Philipp Kohlschreiber’s withdrawal because of illness. The 18-year-old Croat’s good fortune continued in round two when Marcos Baghdatis retired during a third-set tiebreaker. Coric’s run also includes a three-set victory over Malek Jaziri.

 

Whereas Federer and Coric are meeting for the first time, the other semifinal will pit Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych against each other for the 20th time in their careers. At least statistically, Berdych’s struggles against Djokovic are even more significant than the well-documented problems he has endured against Rafael Nadal. Djokovic is dominating the head-to-head series with the Czech 17-2, including a perfect 15-0 on hard courts.

If there is any good news for Berdych, it is that he remains one of the most consistent players on tour. The world No. 8 is 15-3 this season with two runner-ups, a semifinal at the Australian Open, and wins this week over Jeremy Chardy, Simone Bolelli and Sergiy Stakhovsky. While Berdych needed three sets twice, Djokovic advanced to the last four by easing past Vasek Pospisil, Andrey Golubev, and Marsel Ilhan.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan during the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 25 February 2015. EPA/ALI HAIDER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.