Dogged Federer claims Dubai crown

World number one Roger Federer added the Dubai Championship trophy to his long list of successes - but not before he was given a test by Ivan Ljubicic.

Top seed Federer looked to be on course for a easy victory when he thumped the eighth seed 6-1 in the first set. But Ljubicic, who beat Tim Henman in the last eight, dug deep to secure the second set after a tense tiebreak. Swiss star Federer was not about to lose his cool, though, turning on the style to win the deciding set 6-3. The match was a re-run of last week's final at the World Indoor Tournament in Rotterdam, where Federer triumphed, but not until Ljubicic had stretched him all the way. "I really wanted to get off to a good start this time, and I did, and I could really play with confidence while he still looking for his rhythm," Federer said.

"That took me all the way through to 6-1 3-1 0-30 on his serve and I almost ran away with it. But he came back, and that was a good effort on his side." Ljubicic was at a loss to explain his poor showing in the first set. "I didn't start badly, but then suddenly I felt like my racket was loose and the balls were flying a little bit too much. And with Roger, if you relax for a second it just goes very quick," he said. "After those first three games it was no match at all. I don't know, it was really weird. I was playing really well the whole year, and then suddenly I found myself in trouble just to put the ball in the court." But despite his defeat, the world number 14 was pleased with his overall performance. "I had a chance in the third, and for me it's really positive to twice in two weeks have a chance against Roger to win the match. "It's an absolutely great boost to my confidence that I'm up there and belong with top-class players."
