Roger Federer secured his sixth Dubai Tennis Championships title after the Swiss tennis superstar rallied from a set and a break down to outlast Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
“I was happy I was able to use momentum, win that second set, and then it was a tough opening period in the third, wasting the Love-40 game on Tomas’ first service game,” said Federer. “Then saving break points myself. Anything could have happened there.
“Things definitely went my way out here tonight, but I have had a lot tougher matches in the last one and a half years, so this is nice to get a lucky break again.”
This is Federer’s 78th ATP tour title which elevated him to a standalone third place in the all-time title leaders list. Another impressive feat is that Federer has won at least one ATP Tour title each year since 2000. The title victory also pushed his career earnings beyond the $80 million mark.
Federer received 500 ranking points and $465,830 in prize money. He now has a 42-5 win loss record in Dubai where he won back in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2012. He’s had a good start this season which saw him reaching the Brisbane International final and the semifinals of the Australian Open.
Berdych was disappointed with the loss but still satisfied with how he performed in the event. The Czech player won an ATP 500 event in Rotterdam two weeks ago.
“I would say many things [went wrong],” he said. “The match started pretty well. I had really many chances, and then I basically just gave him the game and that’s it.
“It’s very disappointing for me the way I handled that situation. I was in the better shape and playing really well and made my chances, but unfortunately I didn’t execute it in the end.
“I’m quite good in that I don’t keep the losses in my head for a long time. I will definitely try to learn from the mistakes in the second set. I will just try to take positives from that and just leave all the negatives behind.”
