Federer: King of Dubai

The city has been a happy hunting ground for Roger Federer. The 24-year-old world No. 1 has not lost a match in the Emirates since 2002.

Roger Federer returns to Dubai fresh off a four-week break from the game, hoping to extend his grasp over the world number one crown. Having won the Australian Open earlier in the year, few would bet against the Swiss maestro extending his fine run in the Dubai Open, which he’s won thrice on the trot.

For his rivals, the prospect of taking on a fully fit and well-rested Federer is frightening. “He’s an unbelievable player. He is definitely the best player in the world at the moment and one of the greatest of all time. In fact, he’s streets ahead of the rest of us,’’ confesses his nearest challenger, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who is also playing in Dubai.

Federer too hopes that the month spent lazing his hometown of Oberwil in the Swiss Alps will pay off.

“I am not sure how things will turn out. It’s nice to have some time off to rest and prepare yourself for the long season ahead. I hope it helps my game because I have a lot to look forward to. I have had fantastic results in Dubai and on hard courts generally. So I’m looking forward to getting on court again,’’ he says.

Dubai has been a happy hunting ground for King Roger. After falling in the first round to Rainer Schuettler in his opening foray to the Emirates in 2002, the 24-year-old has never lost a match at the Aviation Club.

Having begun the season well, he is keen to keep that winning streak alive. But even he knows that it’s impossible to win every time, no matter how good you are. It doesn’t help that he is the man to beat everywhere he goes and his scalp is prized above any other on the tour. It’s a high-pressure environment.

“Of course there is pressure. But I am pretty used to it by now,’’ he says in his typically understated way.

Obviously, having been number one in the world for 109 consecutive weeks, he has had plenty of experience in dealing with people’s expectations. But the fact that he’s won 11 titles in each of his last two seasons bears testimony to how well he has managed to deal with pressure.

Already labelled as one of the greatest players ever to play the game, by no less than the great Rod Laver, Federer has compiled an awesome record over the years. In fact, last year he lost on four matches out of the 85 that he played. An awesome record and one achieved without the help of a full-time coach.

In fact, after parting with Peter Lundgren a couple of seasons back, he has found no need to engage a travelling coach, preferring instead to interact with Australian Tony Roche on a part-time basis. “He is a great man. He has immense experience, both as player and as coach and he shares that with me,’’ says Federer. “Our relationship is not about him teaching me how to serve or how to volley. He works a bit on my technique, but our interactions are very wide-ranging, very intense. I enjoy being around him and learning from him.’’

With seven Grand Slams to his name already, Federer knows he is in the process of creating a legacy. His goals are crystal clear in his own mind. “I want to protect my number one ranking and also keep winning Wimbledon. To me that’s the biggest tournament in the world,’’ he says, “but I have made no secret of the fact that it’s the French I really want to win. It’s the only Slam I’ve missed out on. There are a lot of things to achieve out there for me.’’

Great Indian Challenge

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, champions here in 1998, are back in Dubai albeit with different partners. Leander teams up with Czech Martin Damm — who won the doubles crown here last year alongside Radek Stepanek — and the duo are seeded fourth in the tournament. Mahesh will play alongside Wesley Moodie. The Indo-South African pair are unseeded in the tournament.

However, both Lee and Hesh are in the same half of the draw and will compete against each other in the quarterfinals if all goes well.

The ‘Indian Express’ have a formidable record in the tournament. Apart from their triumph in 1998, they have also won titles here alongside other partners, Leander with Czech David Rikl in 2003 and Mahesh with Frenchman Fabrice Santoro a year later.

Rivals To His Throne

Federer’s main rivals in the tournament will be Rafael Nadal, Marat Safin and Andre Agassi. But all three are coming off long injury breaks. Nadal, the world No 2 from Spain, is playing only his second tournament since a foot injury which he sustained while winning a thrilling Masters Series final from two sets down against Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic in Madrid in October. But Nadal comes to Dubai hoping to build towards the form which enabled him to play such a great final against Federer on hard courts in Miami almost 11 months ago. The Spaniard had also got the better of Federer in Miami the year before with a straight sets upset win.

Marat Safin has been away from competition even longer, and has selected the Dubai Open to make a comeback after six months off. Safin has not won a title since beating Federer and going on to win the Australian Open 13 months ago, and has not competed since Cincinnati in August where he lost to American Robby Ginepri in the quarters.

Dubai Dossier

1993 Karel Novacek (Czech Republic)
1994 Magnus Gustafsson (Sweden)
1995 Wayne Ferreira (South Africa)
1996 Goran Ivanisevic (Croatia)
1997 Thomas Muster (Austria)
1998 Alex Corretja (Spain)
1999 Jerome Golmard (France)
2000 Nicolas Kiefer (Germany)
2001 Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain)
2002 Fabrice Santoro (Spain)
2003 Roger Federer (Switzerland)*
2004 Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2005 Roger Federer (Switzerland)

*The Dubai Open was considered a graveyard for the defending champions in the first 10 years of its existence. It was Roger Federer who broke the trend in 2004, successfully retaining the title he had won the year before