Federer Faces Youzhny in Final of Dubai Tennis Championships

Dubai, UAE, March 2nd, 2007: Top seed Roger Federer will face Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open on Saturday.

Federer will attempt to regain the trophy he surrendered last year to Rafael Nadal, while Youzhny will try to claim a second title in a week after winning in Rotterdam last Sunday.

Federer had to work hard for his 6-4 7-5 win over fifth seeded German Tommy Haas, who was also on a roll after winning the Memphis title immediately before flying to Dubai.

Federer found the comfort of an early break, taking a 2-1 lead and then holding off a breakpoint in the next game. The second set was increasingly tense, with Federer having to fight off three break points in the sixth game and then Haas saving two at 3-3.

The German then held a set point at 5-4 when a backhand fell wide after hitting the netcord, but Federer escaped when Haas made a forehand error. In an unexpected twist, Haas then fell behind 0-40 on his serve before Federer broke with a winning return.

“It was extremely physical out there tonight, a lot of tough points,” said Federer. “I knew it was going to be tough, a lot of running, patience as well. I thought that was an excellent performance. I rate it very high.”

Youzhny beat Sweden’s Robin Soderling 7-5 6-2, and found little to trouble him after he fought off two break points as Soderling led 4-3, and went on to break for 6-5 when Soderling made a backhand error.

Youzhny kept the momentum going at the start of the second set as Soderling’s shoulders slumped, breaking to lead 1-0. The Russian also held two break points to lead 3-0 and, although Soderling resisted that threat, Youzhny forced a forehand error to break again to lead 5-2.

“There were a lot of Russians here and they gave me power,” Youzhny said. “I slept maybe a little bit at the beginning of the match, but then I woke up.

“Then after I broke him he started missing more. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t do any unbelievable winners or anything. But I served very good, and that was important. I didn’t have many problems with my serve and that’s why I could play aggressive on his serve.”

The Dubai Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and takes place under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

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