DUBAI // It could have been a final made in heaven. Instead, Dubai’s tennis fans will see Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer clash a round earlier, in the semis, tonight.
Like their matches on Wednesday, the two took different routes through the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships yesterday.
Late afternoon, Djokovic, the top seed and four-time champion, was informed that he would not play in the evening as his Russian opponent, Mikhail Youzhny, had withdrawn because of illness.
Later in the night, Lukas Rosol must have been feeling a bit unwell as well after being brushed aside 6-2, 6-2 in a mere 58 minutes by the five-time Dubai champion.
“I’m looking forward to the match,” said Federer about the semis. “You know, one match, best-of-three sets on a court like this, it’s a bit of ‘let’s see what happens’, anyway. We both know that and I’m looking forward to the match.”
Federer and Djokovic are familiar foes, having met 31 times since 2006.
Head-to-head, the Swiss holds a slight 16-15 edge, but the Serb has won the last three of their duels – two of them in three sets and the third was a close two-setter.
Since 2011, the Swiss has won only three of his 12 matches against the world No 2.
In Dubai, their record is 1-1. Federer won the 2007 quarter-final between them in three sets and the Serb beat him in straight sets in a disappointing 2011 final.
“I played him I think the first time in Monaco, and then we kept on playing each other a few times,” Federer said. “But then we played a ton in the semis, always in the semis, because Rafa and myself were always 1 and 2. I played Novak a bunch then.
“We know each other very well and we’ve played each other everywhere, on all the surfaces, you name it. I think we always play the matchup actually very good because we play explosive, aggressive tennis, so there is always some shot making going on.”
The fans will certainly be hoping for that and if Federer can play the way he did against Rosol, the stands could be trembling with excitement.
Playing Federer for the first time, the 28-year-old Czech started aggressively and took a 2-0 lead, but the Swiss then stamped his class, winning the next six games to finish the first set in 28 minutes.
The second set lasted 30 minutes as the 17-time grand slam tournament champion marched on relentlessly, putting up a sizzling display for his fans, who kept chanting his name as he left the court.
“I really do feel I have great crowd support here in Dubai,” said Federer, who has a residence here.
“They really get excited. The last match [against Benjamin Becker in the first round], when I hit the shot through my legs, it was amazing – standing ovation at the end of the matches, all those kind of things. I really do appreciate that.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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