Roger Federer roared back from a set and a break down to subdue Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Dubai Championships final on Saturday as the Swiss maestro sealed a 78th singles title.
Federer had recovered from a similar position to stun world number two Novak Djokovic in Friday’s semi-final and the 32-year-old again struggled early on before he dug deep to claim a sixth Dubai crown.
“It was a tough match,” fourth seed Federer said. “Tomas had the advantage and could have, should have, brought it home, but maybe I got a little lucky. I was very happy with my game tonight and for the week.”
After beating Djokovic, Federer spoke of his need to be aggressive on Dubai’s quick courts but against Berdych the 17-times grand slam champion seemed too eager to adopt that strategy, over-hitting a series of shots from the baseline in the opening stages.
The third-seeded Berdych, 28, suffered from a similar problem which made for a closely contested, if error-strewn, first set.
A wayward Berdych forehand gave Federer the first break and a 2-1 lead, but that advantage proved short-lived as he surrendered his serve immediately.