The King of the Desert

Once the undisputed king over the Middle East desert, Roger Federer has struggled to re-enforce his credentials in past seasons in Dubai, which became Djokovic's playground, after the Serb won the last three editions. Nevertheless, the Swiss, who lost to Novak in the 2011 final, was up for revenge this year, trying to reassess his assault on the number 1 ranking by collecting his 72nd career title.

Following another Grand Slam setback in Melbourne and a worrying defeat to Isner in the Davis Cup, Roger seems to have drawn inspiration from his Rotterdam winning run, starting the week strong, with a first set bagel against in-form Frenchman, Michael Llodra. Relying on a strong service display, he was unbreakable on serve, cruising through to the semifinals with straight sets wins over Llodra, Feliciano Lopez and Mikhail Youzhny. At that stage he faced Juan Martin del Potro in what was the pair's third meeting this year. As I heard someone say, it looks like no wins are enough to avenge the painful 2009 US Open final loss, thus Federer takes all his chances to defeat the Argentinean. While their previous two encounters were dominated by the Swiss, this one was a much tighter affair. As both players hold serve throughout the clash, it was Federer's brilliance in the tiebreaks that made the difference. If the first was won easily, the second proved a much tougher challenge, del Potro benefiting from four set opportunities at 6-2. Rather miraculously, Roger crawled his way back with four consecutive points, before sealing two more to ensure a 7-6,7-6 victory and qualify for his seventh final at the ATP 500 event.

In the championship match, Roger met Andy Murray, the Brit ending Djokovic's reign in the semis after a solid 6-2,7-5 triumph. It was Federer who was the better player though and, even though he was broken for the first time this week, he still managed to dismiss Murray in two sets. By winning his fifth crown in Dubai, the Swiss corrects another one of his records, extending to six the number of tournaments where he won five or more times. Previously, he had achieved this feat at Halle, Wimbledon, US Open, Basel and the ATP Masters Cup. Although there are bigger prizes this year, this success is extremely important for his as it offers a huge confidence boost going into the Indian Wells and Miami Masters. Having battled successfully with the world's best, Federer is starting to regain his invincibility halo. Hopefully a Grand Slam is soon to follow.

Roger always had a difficult time against Murray, but, when it mattered most, he found a way to come out on top. The same thing happened in Dubai, the Swiss ensuring a straight set wins in the final.

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