Dubai – Roger Federer earned a chance of regaining one of his titles, and an early revenge upon Novak Djokovic, by reaching the final of the Dubai Open on Friday.
Federer, without a Grand Slam title for the first time in eight years, overcame Richard Gasquet, the gifted Frenchman who once beat him as a teenager, by 6-2, 7-5 to earn a second meeting with Djokovic inside four weeks. It was the Serbian who beat the Swiss maestro last month in Melbourne before making off with his Australian Open title, and it is Djokovic who holds the title here as well.
“It’s a huge obstacle to play Novak,” admitted Federer, who may nevertheless have been encouraged by Djokovic’s struggles in getting past Tomas Berdych, the man who beat him at Wimbledon but who retired with a thigh injury in the final set. Djokovic, playing in hot temperatures, described his own performance as a “catastrophe”, even though there was no doubting his desire and determination as he survived by a scoreline of 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 4-2, 30-love retired.
Federer by contrast played in the cool of the evening, when the air was thicker and the ball less fiery, which probably helped the top-seeded former champion to produce moments of beautifully controlled magic.
Wozniacki cruises into final: Marion Bartoli was no match for Caroline Wozniacki on Friday as the world number one cruised into the final of the Qatar Open.
The Danish star produced an authoritative display to record a 6-1 6-1 victory and remains on course for a second successive title. Wozniacki, who won the Dubai Open last Sunday, awaits the winner of the match between Jelena Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva and the 20-year-old reflected on her serene progress in Doha.
