28. 02. 2009. ·
Top seed Novak Djokovic won his first ATP World Tour title of the season after defeating fourth seed David Ferrer in straight sets, 7:5 6:3 in 1 hour and 37 minutes at the ‘Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships’ on Saturday.
Novak was the first to make a break in the sixth game of the first set. Three more breaks of service followed on both sides. At 6:5 the 21-year old made a crucial break to take the set 7:5.
World number three gained the advantage at the beginning of the second set, and was leading 3:0. Ferrer managed to break in the seventh game, but the Serb broke back immediately to keep the lead 5:3. He faced scare serving for the match, but held and closed the set with his third ace. The result was 6:3.
”It’s a very important title. I haven’t started the year the way I maybe wanted it and maybe the way people expected me to. I made some major changes with my racquet which was quite risky at this time, but I take my responsibility and move on. As the season is going on, I feel more comfortable with the racquet and more comfortable on the court. I try to release the pressure that I have and just play the kind of tennis that I played in the first part of 2008. If I do so, I think I will be pretty successful.”
”Winning the tournament, any tournament, is a huge success, and especially here in Dubai, which has a history of being one of the strongest events in the Tour,” said Djokovic. “I played aggressively and at certain moments I was patient and mixed up the pace, which I think David didn’t like. He likes to play the same pace, and he’s a very hard-working player. He makes you earn every single point. That’s why he is at the top for many years now. Physically, and mentally, I was really involved in this tournament, especially from the quarter-finals on. I was really proud of myself, and I got to the finals and I had nothing to lose then. Nobody is favourite in the final. I think it’s a match where everybody has a motivation more to win the title.”
”He played better than me, served better,” admitted Ferrer. “He was very, very focused on the match. But me, I played a good game. I’m happy with my game, but maybe the key was he’s a better tennis player than me. “
As the winner of the ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament, Djokovic earned 500 ATP points and $383,000 prize money.
