Great comeback for Federer

Graphic Sports Tennis Mar - 03 - 2014 , 09:49

Roger Federer produced another sublime comeback to defeat Tomas Berdych 3-6 6-4 6-3 and land his sixth Dubai title last Saturday.

Federer, who showed an enterprising new side to his game as he beat Novak Djokovic for the first time in 18 months in the semi-final last Friday, reproduced his form in the final.

It was his 78th ATP title, but only his second in the last 18 months.

After the players traded early breaks in the third and fourth games of the match, third-seeded Berdych held serve before overpowering his opponent to move 4-2 up.

The Czech star, who arrived in Dubai having won his first title in over a year at Rotterdam two weeks ago, sealed the opening set by winning an impressive 88 per cent of his first serve points.

Berdych was making good use of the court and forcing Federer into the shadows with a dominant and confident display in a slow-burner of a contest.

The Czech, beaten by Novak Djokovic in last year's showpiece encounter, took advantage of an out of sorts Federer to move a break ahead in the second set.

However, the 32-year-old Swiss, now down at No 8 in the world rankings, did not read the script and gathered himself by playing percentage tennis of the highest order to turn the contest on its head and take it into a decider.