FEDERER IN FEROCIOUS FORM, BEATS DJOKOVIC FOR SEVENTH DUBAI TITLE BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 28th February 2015

FEDERER IN FEROCIOUS FORM, BEATS DJOKOVIC FOR SEVENTH DUBAI TITLE BY RICKY DIMON

epa04641930 Roger Federer of Switzerland holds the trophy after winning the final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 28 February 2015. EPA/ALI HAIDER |

Wimbledon and the Gerry Weber Open now have company as Roger Federer’s best-ever tournaments. Federer, already a seven-time champion at the All-England Club and in Halle, triumphed in Dubai for the seventh time in his career by beating Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-5 in Saturday’s final.

In fairness to Djokovic, the match was a high-quality affair thanks to both players and more competitive than a straight-set scoreline with no tiebreakers would suggest. The top-ranked Serb had plenty of chances–seven break points in total to be exact (two in the first set, five in the second).

Much to Djokovic’s chagrin, however, Federer’s serve was lethal–especially in the pressure moments. The 33-year-old Swiss saved all seven break points and finished with 12 aces compared to only one double-fault while serving at 65 percent. He became the fourth player in ATP history to record 9,000 aces in a career.

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their final match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 28 February 2015. EPA/ALI HAIDER

“I think the first set belonged to me; whereas the second set belonged to him more,” Federer reflected. “He created many more opportunities. I struggled to get into his service games more frequently. It was a huge game at 5-5, 40-0 for him. I crawled my way back into the game and ended up breaking him. So that was big, but I think the break points saved were even bigger tonight.”

“Today he was just the better player on the court,” Djokovic admitted. “He played the big points perfectly. There was not much I could do. Overall it was a good performance; a good week.”

Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Roger Federer of Switzerland during their final match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 28 February 2015. EPA/ALI HAIDER

Federer improved to 20-17 against Djokovic in their extensive head-to-head series. The 33-year-old Swiss also upped his Dubai record to 47-5.

“I think it’s really become a very nice rivalry,” the 17-time major champion said. “I think we play very nicely against each other, and it seems people like the way we play against each other, as well.”

Djokovic will be in action next week for the first-round of the 2015 Davis Cup, in which Serbia is going up against Croatia. Federer, who helped Switzerland win it all for the first time last year, will not be participating. His next stop is the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates winning the final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 28 February 2015. EPA/ALI HAIDER

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

Topics: Atp World Tour, Dubai, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

February 28, 2015 at 1:40 pm

-@rogerfederer IN FEROCIOUS FORM, BEATS @DjokerNole FOR SEVENTH #DUBAI TITLE BY @Dimonator http://t.co/jvHE8jYdAI #DubaiFinal #FedererEffect