Federer joins Djokovic in Dubai Open quarterfinals

Roger Federer in action during his Dubai 2^nd round match against Fernando Verdasco

Dubai, Feb 26 (IANS): Second seed Roger Federer has joined World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships here.

Top seed Djokovic clearly dominated Andrey Golubey from Kazakhstan before winning 6-1, 6-2 Wednesday, while World No. 2 Federer defeated Spain's Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-3, reports Xinhua.

"Djoker" as his fans call the Serbian superstar nevertheless paid respect to his opponent, saying after the match that "Andrey played well and strong."

Seventeen-time Grand Slam champion Federer met stiff resistance against World No. 31 Verdasco at the beginning of the first set. The Spaniard managed to lead 4-1 against the Swiss, but Federer turned the match mostly with his signature play, his strong forehand. Verdasco was particularly weak on his serve, getting broken repeatedly.

Perhaps the most striking statistic of the match, though, was that Federer won 20 consecutive points after going down 1-4 in the first set, breaking Verdasco at love twice in succession and holding at love three straight times.

"I managed to build momentum and reduced mistakes I did at the start of the game," said Federer.

Federer will play Thursday against Richard Gasquet from France, while Djokovic will face Marsel Ilhan from Turkey.