Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic crushed Roger Federer for the second time in four weeks to claim his third successive title at the Dubai Duty Free Championships. The Swiss maestro was looking for his fifth Dubai Open title at the Aviation Club, but failed to find any rhythm in his game as he was comfortably beaten by world No. 3 Djokovic 6-3, 6-3 in only 71 minutes.

Novak or Nole as he is known to his friends had recently brushed the World No. 2 aside in straight sets en route to victory at last month’s Australian Open.

He also extended his season-opening winning streak to 12 matches, having captured the Australian Open last month and dominated again on Saturday to improve to 8-13 all-time against the Swiss superstar.

While Federer maintains a slender lead over Djokovic in the world rankings, it is now looking only a matter of time before the 23-year-old Serb overhauls him.

Roger Federer realises practice really does make perfect after admitting he needs plenty of it following his loss and added that he needs to put in the hard yards if he is to once again rule the world – starting with the upcoming US hardcourt season. With a hectic season looming ahead, the 16-time Grand Slam winner was happy that he did have to play many long matches in Dubai.

A break in the third game of the match gave Djokovic a 2-1 lead and the Serb did not a face a break point during the entire first set. He broke again in the ninth game to claim the opening set.

The only time the Swiss threatened was early in the second set, as he broke to lead 2-1 and then held to go 3-1 up. But he did not win another game. Djokovic, returning serve superbly, broke to level at 3-3 and again two games later before serving out for victory, Federer hitting a forehand wide on the first match-point.

“I guess I rose to the occasion,” Djokovic noted. “I was aware of the fact that I need to be on top of my game in order to beat Roger. I was serving really well, especially the first set, holding my serve except that one game when I got broken, confidently through throughout the whole match. Just the perfect performance overall.”

The top-seeded Federer was trying for his fifth Dubai crown. He won three straight from 2003-05 and claimed the crown again in 2007.

Federer was also denied his 68th career singles title and his second of the 2011. He won the season-opening event in Doha before bowing out to Djokovic in the Aussie Open semis.

With Djokovic playing the best tennis of his career so far in 2011, Federer believes it will be a great fight among the top players this season.

Djokovic improved to 20-13 all-time title matches and is 3-3 lifetime against Federer in finals. He collected a first prize of $386,000.

Tags: Aviation Club, Dubai Duty Free Championships, Dubai Open, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Tennis, World Rankings