Saturday 28 February 2015 22:40, UK
Roger Federer won his 84th career title and seventh Dubai Tennis Championship crown with a 6-3 7-5 win over world No 1 Novak Djokovic.
The Grand Slam record-holder was in magestic form as he made it 20-17 head-to-head in career meetings against Djokovic.
Federer served superbly, hitting 12 aces and carrying his career total past 9,000, something only three other players have done since 1991.
In a high-quality match, Federer was creative, forthright, and sometimes risk-taking in the frequency with which he attacked the net.
It required only one break of serve in the first set – in the eighth game – to give Federer the thrust he needed to close out the first set.
His serve was to prove the crucial factor when Djokovic threatened to level the match. After saving break points in the eighth game of the second set, Federer saved two set points at 4-5 and then took just his second break point of the match to leave himself serving for the title.
Djokovic had one more chance but Federer refused to buckle and clinched his 84th tournament win at the ATP Tour level.
The 33-year-old Swiss player has now won seven titles at three separate tournaments, adding Dubai to Wimbledon and Halle.
"We get the best out of each other," said Federer after the match. "I'm pleased that I did some good serving when I had to. It's been an unbelievable week and I've played some good tennis."
