Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic won his first title of the season and his second consecutive title in Dubai after beating the Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. The final match was suspended on Saturday due to heavy rain with the score in favor of the Serb, 7-5, 2-0. The game was resumed on Sunday and Djokovic managed an uncomfortable victory in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship.
During the game, the defending champion and second seed in the tournament reached only 52% effectiveness in service and added 5 aces. Youzhny broke Djokovic's service five times.
During the first part of the final on Saturday, Djokovic played with consistency and his service was very effective. He won the first set 7-5. In the second set, Djokovic continued his game, making several great strokes and getting ahead 2-0. But heavy rain forced the match to an end, to be continued the next day.
In the resumed game on Sunday, Djokovic looked nervous and struggled to maintain his service. Youzhny, on the other hand, began by winning a wild second set, breaking Djokovic's serve five times in that set alone. The Serb suffered, trying to maintain his serve, and on Sunday alone made 12 double faults. Youzhny took the second set 7-5.
In the third, Djokovic's nightmare looked about to repeat itself when the Russian, ranked 15th in the world and seventh favorite, recovered with 3-3 after initially losing 0-3. But this time Djokovic responded, winning the next three games to close out the match with a 6-3.
The final, which between the two days lasted 3 hours and 21 minutes, illustrated the irregularity of Djokovic's game. The fluctuations were present throughout the tournament, but they didn't prevent the Serb from winning the seventeenth title of his career and the first of the year.
This triumph also allowed him to defend a title for the first time.
"This title means the whole world to me. Of course there are always people who are saying I can't do it. But I'm playing for myself, and this is another success in my career that I wasn't able to make in the last two years. But now, finally, I did it, and it's a big relief. So in the future I just hope I'll make a couple more of those," stated Djokovic.
The loss in the final was Youzhny's second in Dubai; in 2007, he lost against Federer. It's also his second tournament final of the year that ended in defeat, as in Rotterdam he was beat by the Swede, Robin Soderling.
Youzhny couldn't hide his frustration but maintained his composure.
"I'm disappointed because I lost, but I'm happy because it was a good level of game," Youzhny said. About the Author
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