On the eve of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final, Roger Federer claimed that he felt his best tennis is around the corner. He also stressed that he really meant it.
After rallying back from a set down against reigning champion Novak Djokovic in Friday’s semi-final, it seems wise to trust the Swiss’ judgment.
Federer ended a three-match losing streak to Djokovic, and saved a crucial break point in the fifth game of the second set, to stage a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback win over the world No2 and set up a final with Tomas Berdych, who had squeezed past Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 7-5 earlier in the day.
Berdych was pressured into admitting he preferred to face Federer in the final, and understandably so. The Czech ace has a dismal 2-15 record against Djokovic, but has six victories over Federer in 17 meetings, including wins in the last two.
But after seeing Federer turn around a poor first set performance into an impressive victory, Berdych is certainly wishing he never responded when asked about his preferred final opponent.
And having reached his second final of the season, Federer believes he’s taken a big leap forward.
“I hope it’s now,” Federer said when asked whether he’s reaching the best tennis he referred to before the start of the tournament. “It’s all happening. Beating Novak on the hard courts here in Dubai, it’s tough. It’s clearly not best of five, clearly not the finals of a tournament, but this is a big step in the right direction for me. It gives me a lot of confidence.”
Djokovic made a thunderous start to the match, breaking in the second game with a perfectly placed backhand return then holding to love for a 3-0 lead.
The top-seeded Serb sealed the opening set in 35 minutes, but not before Federer showed glimpses of magic, hitting a great lob to save a second set point.
But Djokovic fired a 205kmh ace on his third set point to march ahead. Federer faced a break point in the fifth game of the second set when his attempted lob sailed long but he hit a signature backhand passing shot winner to save it and went on to hold for 3-2.
He went up 0-30 the following game before play was suspended for five minutes due to light rain. Returning back from the short break, Djokovic netted a backhand to give Federer three break points and the Swiss broke for 4-2 with a crisp down the line backhand. It was all he needed to level the match.
Federer broke twice en route to a 4-1 lead, finding his passing shots and storming to the net when he got the chance. Djokovic saved two match points in the final game, but a down the line backhand flick from Federer got him a third opportunity to seal the match and he moved into the final when Djokovic’s backhand return flew wide.
“I think I was able to play a bit more aggressive as the match went on. I don’t think I was necessarily passive. I just think Novak was playing well when he had to,” explained Federer, who will be gunning for a record-extending sixth title in Dubai.
“I knew if I had a chance I needed to serve well. So I’m just very happy I was able to deliver that.”
Meanwhile, Berdych was happy to reach his second consecutive final in Dubai, and is searching for a second straight title, having picked up the trophy in Rotterdam two weeks ago.
“I believe in myself. That’s the main thing and very strong aspects of all my success in last couple of weeks, months, and that I’m playing well,” said Berdych, who’s on an 11-match winning streak.
