TENNIS DUBAI DUTY FREE– Roger Federer cruised to 6-2 6-1 in the first semifinal of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Tournament against Croatian teenager Borna Coric to qualify for his ninth final in his favourite tournament. Federer will be bidding to win his seventh final in Dubai. In Saturday’s blockbuster final Federer will take on Novak Djokovic who beat Tomas Berdych in three sets with 6-0 5-7 6-4. Diego Sampaolo
Federer and Coric met for the first time in their career. Coric, who entered the Dubai tournament as a lucky loser, qualified for the semifinal after his upset win over Andy Murray in the quarter final.
Federer, who is 15 years older than Coric, raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set but he had to save two break points in his first service game. The Swiss Maestro converted on the first of his two break points in the second game for 2-0 and held his serve in the third game.
Coric broke back to 3-2 in the fifth game. Federer broke straight back for 4-2 after Coric made a double fault. Coric faced three set points after committing a double fault and a forehand error.
The six-time Dubai champion sealed the first set with his third break for 6-2 in the eighth game. Federer opened up a 3-0 lead in the second set with a break in the second game but he failed to convert on a break point chance in the fourth game. Federer got the double break for 5-1 before closing it out on the first match point after 56 minutes to reach his ninth Dubai final
Federer will renew his battle against Novak Djokovic who edged past Tomas Berdych in three sets with 6-0 5-7 6-4. Djokovic got off to a great start taking three consecutive breaks and won the first set with 6-0 in just 23 minutes. This score was reminiscent to that inflicted by Djokovic last October in the Beijing final.
Berdych finally won his first game to 15 at the start of the second set but Djokovic took control of the match again getting the break in the third game to love. Berdych raised the level of his match breaking back to love in the next game. Berdych took the 5-3 lead but Djokovic broke back to 30-0 as the Czech player served for the set at 5-3. Berdych broke serve in the 12th game on the second set point to win the second set with 7-5.
The third set went on serve until the fifth game when Djokovic earned three break points at 2-2. Djokovic got the crucial break for 3-2 as Berdych hit a forehand long after a long rally. Djokovic wrapped up the third set with 6-4.
Djokovic beat Berdych for the third time in Dubai after the 2011 semifinal and the 2013 final.
“Even after the first set that went as perfectly as possible and when I was break up I knew that the match was not over. I just went to stay on that level but it was hard”, said Djokovic.
Last year Federer and Djokovic met in a fantastic three-set semifinal in Dubai. Federer prevailed against his Serbian rival before beating Tomas Berdych in the final.
The top two players in the world will meet for the 37th time. Federer leads 19-17 in their head-to-head matches and clinched two of his past three matches. Federer will be bidding to win his seventh title in Dubai, while Djokovic will be looking to win this tournament for the fifth time and his 50th overall title.
