Swiss tennis superstar Roger Federer said that his aggressive play during his semifinal match against rival Novak Djokovic at the Dubai Tennis Championships last week helped him win the thriller match. He would win the encounter with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 scoreline and would go on to win his sixth title in Dubai on Sunday. This was Federer’s first win over Djokovic in the span of 18 months.
“I think I was able to play a bit more aggressively as the match went on,” said Federer. “I knew I was in a bit of trouble (after the first set) and not looking good at all, because he has a tendency to really run with it and play more freely on your serve. He plays very dangerous.
“It was just a matter of trying to play consistent but remain aggressive. Sometimes being also overly aggressive to see if it works. If it doesn’t, then you can always pull back a little bit. Clearly it was close, but I think I got the right balance, just the right balance. Then I started to serve very well, something I haven’t been able to do really this week yet. I knew to have a chance today I needed to serve well. So I’m just very happy I was able to deliver that.”
Federer started his 2014 season with a new coach, Stefan Edberg, and the partnership seems to be working, including a racquet change. The Swiss star reached the final in Brisbane, semifinals of the Australian Open and the title win at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
