Despite the fact that Novak Djokovic is unbeaten this year, won the Australian Open and beat Roger Federer in Melbourne, Djokovic has opened as the +130 underdog to Federer (-160) for the championship match of Saturday’s Dubai Championships.
The No. 3-ranked Serb has won all 13 matches he has played this year. Federer’s only loss in 15 matches was to Djokovic. The two players have won six of the past eight Dubai titles between them. Djokovic is bidding for his third straight title. Federer has won the crown four times in the past seven occasions that he’s played here – 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007 — while finishing runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2006. The other two times, Federer lost in the second round and to Andy Murray in the first round in 2008.
“I lost maybe three times before that to him,” Djokovic said. “So I don’t think that he will think too much about that match, because he hasn’t lost that often in the last five, six years in Grand Slams. … We know each other really well. We know each other’s game. Mostly in last three, four years we had matches in semis or finals. It’s always high stake and big challenge,” he said.
In typical Federer fashion, he says the fact he is playing Djokovic so soon after being beaten soundly in the semifinals in Melbourne is no big deal.
“Well, it’s happened to me even worse here when I beat (Marat) Safin in ‘04. We played each other in the finals of the Australian Open, and we played here in the first round. That was a rather tough draw,” Federer said. “This is not similar, because we actually didn’t play the finals against each other in Australia. He’s been playing well. He hasn’t lost a match yet this season. Obviously, we’re not that deep into the season yet, but he’s the one who won the Australian Open and he’s been playing great.”
Federer is 13-7 all-time against Djokovic, including a victory in the quarterfinals in this tournament in 2007. Djokovic’s last loss came to Federer in the semifinal of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals last November.
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