FEDERERWINS FIFTH DUBAI TITLE

Roger Federer swatted aside Andy Murray 7-5 6-4 to win the Dubai Championships on Saturday, the Swiss maestro's 72nd tour title, as he abandoned the baseline to dominate from the net.

The 16-times grand slam winner may no longer be favourite for the top prizes but few can match his longevity or dedication on the gruelling men's tour and the 30year-old claimed his fifth Dubai title without dropping a set all week.

“Against Andy I knew I had to stay aggressive but not overly – you don't want to overhit,” Federer told reporters. “I think I found the right balance out there tonight.”the Swiss has now won five of his past seven tournaments since reaching the semi-finals of last year's U.S. Open.

“There is no substitute to confidence,” said Feder- er. “I'm defending much better than I was in the middle of last year where I felt like I couldn't come out of tough defensive positions anymore. I was able to turn it around. Now, I just have to keep it up.” Third-seeded Murray went into Saturday's final with an 8-6 winning record against second seed Federer, although the Swiss has won both of their grand slam encounters.

Murray, 24, did beat world number one Novak Djokovic on Friday to reach the final and gain revenge for his semi-final defeat by the Serb in January's Australian Open.

But he was strangely lacklustre against Federer and struggled to get his service going with his first serve percentage dipping from a modest 58 in his opening four service games to a lamentable 38 over the next five.