Djokovic reigns again in Dubai
Novak Djokovic defends his crown with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 win against Mikhail Youzhny
Dubai: Novak Djokovic became only the second player in the history of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships to successfully defend his crown here with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 win against Mikhail Youzhny in the rain-delayed final at the Dubai Tennis Stadium Sunday.
On Saturday, rain had halted Djokovic’s march towards a second successive title here, forcing organizers to re-schedule the remainder of the final for Sunday afternoon.
The Serbian star, who was aiming to become only the second player in the 18-year history of this tournament to successfully retain his crown, was leading 7-5, 2-0 and 30-15 ahead on his serve when the heavens had opened up for the second time in the evening.
Djokovic received the winner’s cheque of $383,000 and the dhow trophy from Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum in the presence of Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum, President, Tennis Emirates, Abdul Rahman Falaknaz, Vice President, Tennis Emirates, Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director, Dubai Duty Free, Tournament Director Salah Tahlak and Vinit Chandra, CEO, Emerging Markets, Barclays, among others.
When play resumed at 2 pm Sunday, Djokovic held easily to make it 3-0, only to see the gutsy Youzhny take the next three games with a break in the fifth to draw level at 3-3.
But there was further drama as the defending champion continued his error-prone game with an astounding four double faults in the early stages to allow Youzhny to break a second time for 5-4. However, Djokovic was in no mood to relent as he broke back immediately for 5-5 and then lost serve on ‘love’ to allow his Russian opponent to serve out the set 7-5.
In the third set, Djokovic regrouped well and held twice in between breaking his Russian opponent for an early 3-0 lead. And just when everyone among the crowd expected it to be a mere formality from then on, cheered whole-heartedly as Youzhny fought back for a break in the fifth and then held to be back on equal terms at 3-3.
After both had gone on serve, Djokovic broke once again in the eighth for 5-3 and then served out the set and match to successfully retain his title in three hours and 12 minutes.
Djokovic, who beat Spain’s David Ferrer in the 2009 final, is only the second player in this tournament to successfully defend his crown. He follows four-time Dubai champion Roger Federer, who has the rare distinction of winning here three years on the trot – 2003, 2004 and 2005 and then for the fourth time in 2007.
And for Youzhny this was second time unlucky as he had also fallen at the final hurdle in 2007 against Federer. The closest any of his countrymen had come to the Dubai title was in 2001 when red-hot Marat Safin had been forced to retire against Juan Carlos Ferrero.
“Throughout the whole week I was not performing at my best. I was struggling and he was playing so well. I want to thank all the people who came today. It wasn’t easy after the rain delay and thank you all for coming,”
Sunday’s win was sweet revenge for Djokovic after falling in the semifinals to Youzhny in Rotterdam two weeks back and also his first ATP World Tour title for 2010. “It was really hard to sleep, and with adrenaline in your blood it’s difficult to sleep. I am just so happy to be back here and win. I will definitely be back here next year,” he promised.
Result:
Novak Djokovic bt Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
