Dubai Open: Roger Federer battles past Tomas Berdych to clinch title

Roger Federer with the Dubai 2014 trophy

It has more than a decade since Roger Federer won his first title in the desert city, but the passage of time has neither dimmed his desire nor hunger. The Swiss offered plenty of evidence of his determination for continued success in the finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships today. The fourth seed overcame a set and a break deficit to turn the tables on Tomas Berdych to avenge his defeat last year and clinch a sixth title at the tournament. Federer came from behind to earn a hard fought 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory at the end of a nearly two hour slug fest.

Federer drew first blood when Berdych made four straight errors in the third game of the first set. The advantage did not last long though, as the Swiss went searching for his wandering forehand, to allow Berdych to bring the set back on serve immediately.

In the sixth game, Federer struggled with his first serve and Berdych capitalized by going on the attack. At 30-40, the Swiss sent a backhand into the net to surrender yet another break to the sixth ranked Czech player.

Berdych wasted no time to consolidate this time, but Federer held at love in the eighth game to force his opponent to serve out the set. The Czech was in a spot of bother at 15-30 in the ninth game, but an ace sandwiched between a pair of unreturnable serves did the trick.

The set took 33 minutes and with Federer managing to get just 40% of his first serves in, Berdych only had to bide his time. The Czech may trail the Swiss 6-11 in career meetings, but he had had the better of him in their last two matches – at the US Open in 2012 and the semis of Dubai last year.

It appeared that Federer might stumble to a third straight defeat when he flailed a crosscourt forehand wide in the fifth game of the second set. Berdych was in the driver’s seat at 3-2, with a valuable break in his favour.

A defeat was staring Federer in the face but somehow it spurred the best out of the Swiss, just when he needed it. The Swiss struck a forehand volley winner to earn break point and Berdych succumbed to the pressure, overcooking his forehand to surrender the break.

It was an invitation that Federer wasn’t going to spurn. The world No. 8 showed he had plenty left in the tank, when he took eight points in a row from 4-4 to snatch the set and push the match into a decisive third set.

As he worked his way back, the confidence of being able to stay in the match despite being on the brink of a defeat equipped Federer with a sharp mental edge. And the Swiss rode the wave to take his running tally to 15 of 16 points as he earned three break points at 0-40 in the second game.

Aware of the dangers that awaited him, Berdych played with courage to stave off an early break in the decider, eventually holding serve with a couple of service winners. But it was to prove only a momentary reprieve.

As the match threatened to swing back into the Czech man’s corner, Federer fought off a break point and an untimely double fault to keep his nose ahead at 2-1, holding serve at the end of a very challenging game.

Berdych found himself in a hole again at 15-40 in the fourth game. The Czech sought to rescue himself with a dose of aggression, but this time failed to deny Federer the break. Berdych sailed a forehand long to help the Swiss take a commanding 3-1 lead in the decisive set.

At 4-2, it was Federer’s turn to be stricken with danger, as Berdych deployed winners off either flank to gain a foothold at 15-40. The determined Swiss fought tooth and nail though, calling on some huge serves to somehow find the means for a crucial service hold to stay in control.

Under pressure, Berdych found himself fighting for life in the eighth game. But the determined Czech, who saved three match points before trouncing Federer in the semis last year, saved two in this game to keep the match alive.

Serving for a sixth title in the desert, essentially Federer’s second home, the Swiss got off to a solid start as he aced Berdych to 30-0. At 40-15, the Czech sent a backhand return off the court to leave Federer raising his arms in relief and joy as he celebrated a hard earned victory.

In a match where both players struggled to control the first serve – 51% for Federer and just 48% for Berdych – the fact that Federer won 84% of his first serve points to only 66% by Berdych made a significant difference. Federer smacked 25 winners to 20 from Berdych, who also made 29 unforced errors compared to 23 by the Swiss.

After just a solitary lower rung title last year, the title in Dubai will do Federer’s confidence a world of good ahead of the Masters swing in America and then the clay court season. This victory helped Federer collect a 78th career title along with a cheque for `465,830 and 500 ranking points. The earnings from Dubai have also helped Federer cross the $80 million mark in career earnings.