Federer to meet Djoko in final
Swiss star to clash with World No 1 today for the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open title
Defending champion Roger Federer will meet four-time champion Novak Djokovic in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open at the Dubai Tennis Stadium today.
Winner here on six previous occasions, Federer tamed Croatian teenager Borna Coric 6-2, 6-1 in under an hour in yesterday’s first semi-final, before Djokovic entered his fifth final here with a well-contested 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 win over two-time runner-up and fourth seed Tomas Berdych.
That sets up an engrossing final between the top tworanked players in men’s tennis. “Roger [Federer] always presents a huge challenge to me and I look forward to this,” Djokovic said.
“Roger has a fantastic record here, winning six titles, but I will be there tomorrow [Saturday]. I am looking forward to it.”
Djokovic started in unstoppable form, with world No. 1 threatening to blow Berdych away after winning the first set 6-0 with breaks in the first, third and fifth games in 23 minutes. Djokovic then led 2-1 in the second, only to see Berdych dig deep and play some astonishing tennis to draw level 4-4.
In the 11th game, Djokovic slipped and fell, forcing a timeout. That break was enough for Berdych to break one more time and wrap up the set 7-5.
In the decider, a break in the fifth for a 3-2 cushion was all Djokovic needed as he wrapped up set and match 6-4 in two hours and four minutes of engrossing tennis before a capacity crowd. Earlier, Federer made best use of the windy conditions to hand a 56-minute tennis lesson to 18-year-old Coric for an effortless 6-2, 6-1 win to enter his ninth singles final in the 23year history of this tournament.
“I was already happy to be in the semis. I didn’t want to lose, but the idea was to try to get some matches here and then look ahead at the season,” he said.
‘Positively surprised’
“Clearly Dubai is a very important tournament for me. I’m very positively surprised how well I’m actually playing right away.
“I think from that side I’m very excited that it’s going so well and I know the final is going to be a whole lot tougher.”
Coric was pleased with fulfilling his childhood dream of playing against his hero. “I’m just happy that I made the semi-final. I gave my best. My best wasn’t even close to being good enough today, but what can you do?” he said.
Federer’s start was more than Coric could handle as the teen sent a forehand wide to the left of his opponent to hand him an early 2-0 lead.
Coric broke back in the fifth game, but Federer mixed his game up well with quick rushes to the net and was rewarded with a second break, on which he consolidated to win the set 6-2 in a mere 26 minutes.
In the second set, Federer was once again in the clear for 2-0 and Coric seemed to be talking to himself, questioning what was going wrong. The Swiss got a second break in the sixth for 5-1 and then served out for set and match in four minutes short of the hour.
Today’s play will commence with the men’s doubles final at 5pm, followed by the singles final between Federer and Djkovic at 7pm. This will be only the second time they have met in the final here, with Djokovic winning 6-3, 6-3 in 2011.
RESULTS
Day 5 Yesterday’s matches Singles semi-finals: Roger Federer bt Borna Coric 6-2, 6-1 Novak Djokovic bt Tomas Berdych 6-0, 5-7, 6-4
Doubles semi-finals: Rohan Bopanna/Daniel Nestor bt jeanjulien Rojer/Horia Tecau 4-6, 7-6 (9), 11-9