THE DUBAI TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS March 2, 2003
Federer Wins Second Title in Three Weeks
Roger Federer continued to demonstrate his stellar form by winning his
second title in three weeks after capturing the Dubai Tennis Championships
on Sunday. Federer, the tournaments' top seed, defeated Jiri Novak, 6-1,
7-6(2) for his second title of the year and sixth title of his career.
Federer, who won his first title of the year in Marseille, has now won 14
of his last 15 matches. His only loss in the last three weeks came in the
semifinals at Rotterdam where he lost to eventual winner Max Mirnyi. The
21-year-old did not drop a set during the week in Dubai, scoring wins
against Irakli Labadze, Maximillian Abel, Hicham Arazi, Ivan Ljubicic
and Novak.
The Swiss No. 1 will move to the 3rd position in the ATP Champions Race,
trailing only Race leader Andre Agassi and Australian Open finalist Rainer
Schuettler. Federer has a 20-4 record on the year.
Novak, who reached two singles finals in 2002, dropped to 4-4 all-time in
ATP singles finals. Though he has been one of the most consistent players
on the circuit, Novak has not won an ATP title since he won Munich and
Gstaad in 2001.
In the doubles final, Leander Paes and David Rikl defeated Wayne Black and
Kevin Ullyett, 6-3, 6-0 to capture their first title as a team. For Rikl,
Sunday's win was his 27th doubles title, which also marked Paes' 25th
doubles championship. Black and Ullyett, who won six titles in doubles
in 2002, have yet to win a title this year.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID:
Federer: "I really try to forget last year. It's been for me a great four
weeks. Last year I had the same schedule and couldn't cope with the fatigue.
In Marseille I came through as number one seed, and here too. It's really
good for your confidence."
"Against Jiri the rallies are long and it's tough, because he moves around
and gets a lot of balls back deep. I have to work hard against him and at
one stage we were both looking for some air. Maybe my advantage was that I
served a little better and varied my game a little more. I really focused
on a good start today, because if I could take an early lead it was going
to help me out and save some energy for the rest of the match."
Novak: "In the first set he was playing unbelievable. It was my first match
under the lights and it was a huge difference. He had been playing all his
matches under the lights and it was a little bit of an advantage for him.
He was killing me all the time from all the spots on the court."
"He won the first set 6-1, but the second set it was open. The biggest
problem was that I couldn't hold my serve today. I made two breaks in
the second set (for 2-0 and 3-1) but I didn't hold my own serve. I just
have to congratulate him because he was better."
"I'm disappointed that I lost the final, but on the second side I'm very
happy that I reached the final because it is my biggest result this year.
I was just trying to make a good result from the beginning of the year and
I did it. My confidence is going higher and I hope I will continue like
this."
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恭喜！Novak也可惜了…上次馬德里也失掉生涯第一冠的機會…
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