Novak Djokovic is yet to lose in Abu Dhabi and was on Saturday also reminded that he has not dropped a match since he announced his engagement to fiancee Jelena Ristic in September.
The Serb, who became the first ever three-time winner of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship when he defeated David Ferrer, is on a 24-match winning streak – not counting the two he won this weekend – and as Ristic sat courtside next to his new coach Boris Becker at the tennis stadium in Zayed Sports City, Djokovic thinks moving up the wedding date might bring him more luck.
“I don’t know how much more credit I have so the wedding has to come very soon I guess, to get more credit,” Djokovic joked after defeating the Spaniard 7-5, 6-2.
The world No2 had faced Ferrer on his previous two trips to Abu Dhabi, delivering heavy defeats on both occasions – in the 2011 final and the 2012 semi-finals – but this victory was far from routine.
It was Ferrer who drew first blood, breaking Djokovic for a 3-1 lead but the Serb struck back and levelled the match at three games apiece.
The defending champion created three break point chances in the 11th game and broke serve on the second one to lead 6-5 and put together a run of seven games in a row before Ferrer stopped the bleeding and got on the board in the fifth game of the second set.
Djokovic had to fend off a break point while serving for the title but he eventually wrapped up the win in one hour 22 minutes and heads to Australia with one more trophy from the UAE capital.
The Serb has now won four titles in Dubai and three in Abu Dhabi. His impeccable record in both emirates (7-0 in Abu Dhabi and 28-3 in Dubai) means that he’s only lost three matches since he first came to the UAE seven years ago.
“There is no secret really or a rational explanation why I play well here, but it’s just because I feel good here,” said Djokovic.
“I feel like at home, the people in Abu Dhabi, in Dubai, they welcome me, they support me, I just enjoy it. It’s a great energy, people love tennis, they love sport and you could see how much they appreciate it here and for me it’s a pleasure to come and play.”
The victory was also good news for Becker, who couldn’t have dreamt of a better debut as a coach. Both Djokovic and Becker have been the centre of attention around Zayed Sports City all weekend but the Serb also made sure to pay tribute to the other members of his team, particularly his coach of eight years, Marian Vajda.
With Roger Federer announcing he will be coached by former sixtime Grand Slam champion Stefan Edberg, yet another ‘80s star has joined the tour as a coach.
When asked whether ex-rivals Edberg, Becker and Andy Murray’s coach Ivan Lendl can add a new element to the existing rivalries between Djokovic and his peers, the Serb said: “Yesterday when they announced that Federer will be working with Edberg, some people came up with the head-to-heads between Edberg, Lendl and Becker and that was funny to see. It’s going to attract more attention, in a positive way to our sport and I only look at it in a good way.”
Meanwhile Ferrer was happy with his form in Abu Dhabi and says he hopes to keep up his level in Doha, where the ATP season officially starts tomorrow.
“Congratulations to ‘Nole’, he deserved to win. I think it’s difficult to win finals, and I lost a final to No2 in the world.
“It was a good three matches, I played at a good level and I hope that in my next tournaments I play similarly,” said the world No3.
