Dubai: Roger Federer may have been bundled out of the Australian Open early this year, but he will return to Dubai next month to continue one of the fiercest rivalries in sport.
The defending and six-time Dubai champion will once again battle with reigning world number one and four-time Dubai title holder Novak Djokovic when play in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships commences in just a few weeks’ time.
Incredibly, the talented twosome have between them claimed the coveted trophy in 10 of the last 12 years stretching back to 2003, with only Rafael Nadal in 2006 and Andy Roddick in 2008 breaking their stranglehold.
The pair have clashed a remarkable 36 times throughout their careers, and Federer narrowly leads their rivalry with 19 wins against the 17 earned by Djokovic. Their first meeting came in Monte Carlo in 2006 and, in a sign of the outstanding battles that were to come, that match went to three sets before Federer prevailed.
Their first clash in Dubai occurred as long as eight years ago, in 2007, with Federer needing over two hours to come through their quarter-final in three sets. The next time they met in Dubai was not until the 2011 final, when Djokovic defeated Federer in straight sets to claim his third consecutive Dubai title. Federer finally regained his crown the following year after Djokovic fell to Andy Murray in the semi-finals, before they met again in the 2014 semi-finals which defending champion Djokovic conceded in three sets in a Centre Court thriller.
“Well, great to him for coming back in the match. Congratulations,” said Djokovic after seeing his one-set lead evaporate. “He deserved to win. He played in the second part of the match better and was more aggressive and played all around the court really well.”
Federer credited the fantastic atmosphere created by the sell-out crowd for inspiring him to victory.
“I think it was a very enthusiastic crowd, polite crowd, and it was a dream playing in an atmosphere like this,” he said. “I mean, they were already trying to create a Mexican wave about five games in. I don’t know if that was because Novak was leading or to pump me up. But anyway, I thought it was a great atmosphere.”
“We are thrilled that two of the greatest players of the century have chosen to continue their extraordinary rivalry at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free, the tournament owners and organizers.
Play in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships begins with the WTA event, which takes place between February 15-21 and features eight of the world’s top 10, including world number one Serena Williams, defending champion Venus Williams, former winners Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska, and French Open and WTA Finals runner-up Simona Halep. Play then continues between February 23-28 with the action-packed ATP tournament.
