Roger suffers defeat in Dubai final

Roger was defeated in straight sets by Novak Djokovic in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships today.

"I had a tough start and a tough end but Novak played a solid tournament all the way through and deserved to win,” Roger said. “It was a tough end for me but still a great tournament."

Roger faced a strong Djokovic right from the start and was clearly dominated in the first set. It looked better in set number two as he broke the Serb to take a 3-1 lead. But unfortunately he had to constantly battle with problems with his timing and rhythm, losing 20 of the following 25 points and eventually the match.

Date: 26.02.2011, Source: RF Official

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Roger reaches Dubai final

Roger has reached the final of the tournament in Dubai thanks to a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Richard Gasquet today.

Roger had no problems in the first set, playing aggressively and not facing too much resistance from the Frenchman. But he fell back 3-5 in the second as Gasquet made more of a fight of the encounter. And then Roger once again did what we love him for - raise the pressure and take the lead - as he secured the last four games and thus the match.

“I was very happy about my performance from the start,” reflected Federer. “I felt I was hitting the ball well. He's a great talent. He's one of the guys I really enjoy playing the most on tour. I thought tonight I played the right way. Obviously should have gone or could have gone three sets, but I was able to avoid that. Then he had a bit of a slump towards the end, which I was able to take advantage of.”

Roger will now face Novak Djokovic in Saturday's final, in a replay of their Australian Open semi-final in January. The defeat is Roger's only one so far this season, Djokovic is yet to loose a match.

Date: 25.02.2011, Source: RF Official & ATP

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Federer reveals his blacklist

Roger Federer loves a variety of sports, but it seems that ping pong is the only one he allows himself to play due to risk of injury. Speaking after his quarter-final win at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Federer said that skiing, soccer and squash were all on his banned list. Even the more pedestrian sport of golf is blacklisted.

“To be quite honest, I do miss [skiing]. I used to do it up until a few years ago," Federer said. "Last time I skied was in 2008 when I had mono. Came back after the Australian Open, went skiing, and next day I got ill again. So I was like, Okay, it's a sign for me. No more skiing. That's a pity, but okay, we'll do that.

“Soccer I haven't played much either. I remember when I had the groin issue in Wimbledon. Then I went to Gstaad and I really couldn't move well. I mean, I won the doubles with Safin and stuff. But I went to play soccer that whole week as well and couldn't move at the end. So it was just so silly of me. I did the same with squash as well.”

Federer said that he recently played a round of golf, but even that took its toll on his body. “I played a round of golf with my parents. It was my mom's birthday the other week here, and I went to play on the Emirates Golf Course. It was nice to do, but the same thing again. Next thing you know, your back hurts just a little bit.

“You just don't want to do it, because my body is accustomed to play tennis right now. Honestly, I can wait for many more years until I can do all those sports really well. I actually do miss it to do all those things a bit more often.  I can play ping pong. I can do that.  It's a pity [I can’t play the other sports] but, look, I'll be able to enjoy them much more when I'm done.”

Federer is chasing a fifth title in Dubai. He plays Frenchman Richard Gasquet in Friday's semi-finals, with the winner to play either Novak Djokovic or Tomas Berdych in the final.

Date: 25.02.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer marches towards Dubai final

Top seed Roger Federer continued his steady progress at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships as he reached the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 hard-court tennis tournament Thursday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky.

The Swiss has been largely untroubled in his pursuit of a fifth title in Dubai this week and, despite dropping serve for the first time in the tournament, dispatched the No. 43-ranked Stakhovsky in 72 minutes. He saved eight of the nine break points he faced and capitalised on three of the nine chances he created.

“I try not to waste any energy,” said Federer of his run through. “Most important thing is to come through. Doesn't matter if it's three times 7 6 in a row to get to the semi. At the end of the day, you want to give yourself chances to win the trophy, and that's what I'm doing. I think I didn't have any let's say completely easy matches here. I've always had to be very focused.”

The 29-year-old Federer has a 28-3 record in Dubai after winning three successive titles from 2003-2005, reaching the final in 2006, and lifting the trophy again in 2007. He is chasing his 68th tour-level title this week and his second of the season after triumphing in Doha (d. Davydenko) in the first week; he followed with a semi-final showing at the Australian Open.

Date: 24.02.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer: I'm not RoboCop

Roger Federer admitted allowing his mind to wander in his comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over Spaniard Marcel Granollers in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Wednesday night. The top seed and World No. 2 was asked during his post-match press conference whether it sometimes is hard to remain 100 percent focused when he is headed towards a routine win.

“Sometimes [my concentration] wanders," Federer said. "Sometimes if you have a song in your mind, sometimes you're thinking of what's going to happen tomorrow, what's the plan for tonight. All those things happen. We're human at the end of the day. We're not a machine and go from like point to point like RoboCop.

“It's like we have our fun, and sometimes it's hard when the mind starts wandering. I realised today at one point I served the first point of one of the games and I was not even focused. I knew I was going to hit it down the T, but no, you know, not that full concentration I needed.  And then I told myself: Okay, concentrate, please. So sometimes you have to remind yourself, because time goes by in between. You want to keep the intensity high, but at the same time you want to relax. It's a habit you get.


“By now obviously I'm an expert at it. I know how it works. But still, after playing so much tennis, I still have to remind myself to focus on each point, and then you break it down to each shot and so forth. So it sounds like it's hard, but you get the hang of it."

One reporter cheekily asked Federer if, during the match, he thought about what he would have for supper.

“Um, maybe.  I don't know,” Federer said. "You think of many things. You can imagine how many points I've played, so I've had a lot of time to think out there.”

Date: 24.02.2011, Source: ATP

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Roger reaches Dubai quarters

Roger had no difficulties against Spaniard Marcel Granollers in Dubai today, winning 6-3 6-4 with a flurry of spectacular winners to reach the quarter-finals.

Roger dominated the opening set and went up early in the second before the 53rd-ranked Granollers narrowed the gap to 5-4. Our champ then hit several forehand winners and sealed the win when Granollers hit a return long.

Roger's next opponent will be Sergiy Stakhovsky (ATP 43) of Ukraine.

Date: 24.02.2011, Source: RF Official

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Federer cruises past Devvarman

Playing his first match since a semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open three weeks ago, World No. 2 Roger Federer breezed through his first-round match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Indian Somdev Devvarman.

In his first meeting with recent Johannesburg finalist Devvarman, Federer broke serve three times from seven opportunities and saved both break points he faced to wrap up victory in 75 minutes in front of a packed centre court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.

“Roger is my idol, one of the greatest players ever,” said Devvarman, who played a Top 10 player for the first time in his career. “I think he serves really well.  I think it's very underrated how good his serve is. Because he does that, I feel like he puts a lot pressure on you when you're serving. It's not like he has too many weaknesses to exploit, so when he feels like he's on a roll, it's really tough to stop him.”

Reflecting on the match, Federer said, “I've had some tough ones over the years here actually in the early round. That's why I don't judge my first rounds too harshly or whatever. It's about coming through and giving yourself a second chance the next day and then kind of move on in the draw. All in all, I think the result is fair. I was able to play aggressive and serve well when I had to, and it was a decent match.”

Federer is chasing his fifth title at the ATP World Tour 500 hard-court tennis tournament. The Swiss has a 26-3 match record at the event, after winning three successive titles from 2003-2005, reaching the final in 2006 and triumphing again in 2007.

Next up for Federer is Spaniard Marcel Granollers, who capitalised on four of 13 break points to cruise past Dmitry Tursunov 6-1, 6-3 in 72 minutes.

Date: 22.02.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer relaxed and ready for Dubai title tilt

Roger Federer, the top seed at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, is refreshed and ready ahead of his first ATP World Tour tournament since his Australian Open semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic last month.

"I didn't spend much time thinking about the match against Novak," admitted Federer on Sunday. "I generally thought about the first month, how it had gone. I came out of the Australian Open feeling good mentally and physically.

"There was huge hype as [Rafael] Nadal went for the 'Rafa Slam'. Novak, Andy [Murray] and Rafa played well, but the changing of the guard [in world tennis] doesn't happen over three days. Just because a top player doesn't play well, don't jump to conclusions that it's the end.

"I think I am playing well. If I wasn't, then it might be different. If I lost in Doha and early at the Australian Open, then you could ask some questions, but I had a strong end to last year and was one of the best players. I am happy with where my game is at ahead of this swing of hard-court tournaments.

The Swiss superstar, who has spent the past seven days training in Dubai, continues to plan his schedule 18 months in advance. "I have never thought of stopping.

"On vacation, I always talk about my plans and they are always one-and-a-half years ahead of time. Towards the end of vacations I get hungry again to comeback. I am already thinking of the [London 2012] Olympics and also what tournaments to play beyond that."

Federer turns 30 in August, a prospect he "can't believe. I was playing juniors not so long ago. As players, years go by as extremely quick due to the travelling and scheduling. [But] if you enjoy playing then it isn't a problem.

"The challenge for me over the past year has been to stay healthy. I have been able to accomplish that. I don't have to think about what I need to do to lead a healthy life. Now I can focus on my fitness, my tennis, practise and schedule. I pretty much have the same schedule each year and I still get excited returning to tournaments."

The World No. 2, a four-time former champion in Dubai, also confessed that he remains the same person, nearly eight years after he won his first Grand Slam championship in July 2003 at Wimbledon, despite all the fame that has come with his success.

"In the beginning, I felt uncomfortable on red carpets, wearing suits and giving acceptance speeches. But you learn to do the photo shoots and speeches. I think I've been able to stay the normal Roger that I am, but I have adjusted to the fame and status."

Date: 20.02.2011, Source: ATP

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Ljubicic salutes Federer and Nadal

World No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic believes that while a changing of the guard in tennis will come eventually, for now Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal remain the undisputed top players in the game.

In explaining their dominance, Ljubicic highlighted their absolute consistency when they step on court. “When they play, they play absolutely their best, and it’s really difficult to beat them. It makes a difference at the end of the day that they never give up on a single point. They are always in great shape when they have to be in the big tournaments. They are able to compete everyday and really give their absolute best when they are on the court, which I don’t think was always the case with past champions.

“I always felt with Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi they had two or three tournaments where they were not good at all and they would lose first round. That’s not happening with these two guys. That’s why they’ve been up there for such a long time, because it’s really difficult to win one single game against them.”

Date: 11.02.2011, Source: ATP

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Nike 'Clash of the Champions' event

Roger, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams will be facing off in Nike's "Clash of the Champions' on March 8 at the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon (USA).

The event, which will begin at 5:30 p.m., will feature Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams playing a singles set, followed by a mixed doubles set and concluding with a men's singles set between Roger and Rafa.

A portion of the proceeds from the exhibition will benefit each of the four athletes' charitable foundations, in Roger's case the Roger Federer Foundation.

Tickets for this special showcase go on sale Friday, February 4 and can be purchased at:
www.MatthewKnightArena.com.

Date: 02.02.2011, Source: RF Official

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