Roger Federer, Marcos Baghdatis to start their run at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2011
Four-time Dubai champion and 16-time Grand Slam champion will take on the less-known Indian tennis player Somdev Devvarman for a place in the second round at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, an ATP Tour 500 series, held annually in Dubai.
Roger Federer, who has remained a top performer at this tournament since 2004, started this season on a winning note, winning the title in Doha. He then reached the semifinals at the season’s first Grand Slam in Melbourne where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Federer had pulled out of this last tournament last year due to illness but looks stronger and confident to put up another thrilling performance.
"I am here now and I want to win the tournament.I think I am playing well. If I wasn't, then it might be different. If I lost in Doha and early at the Australian Open, then you could ask some questions, but I had a strong end to last year and was one of
the best players. I am happy with where my game is at ahead of this swing of hard-court tournaments," said the former world number one.
When asked about his match against Novak Djokovic, Federer said "I didn't spend much time thinking about the match against Novak", admitted Federer on Sunday. "I generally thought about the first month, how it had gone. I came out of the Australian Open
feeling good mentally and physically”.
The Swiss’ opponent, Devvarman first came into notice when he won gold medals at the Asian and Common Wealth Games. He then reached his maiden ATP career finals in Chennai in 2009. Despite his improved performances, Roger Federer is expected to complete
a win in straight sets.
In another match, Marcos Baghdatis will face Kazakh Andrey Golubev to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals. The “Former top ten player” won his last ATP singles title in Sydney one year ago. Since then he has come close to winning trophies on several occasions.
He reached the semifinals at this tournament’s previous edition and finished runner-up in Washington and Moscow. Baghdatis also registered victories over high profile players like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer last to end the season in top 20.
The unpredictable Cypriot will now start his campaign at the Men’s Dubai Duty Tournament against the young Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan in the first round.
His opponent Golubev has only one ATP singles title to his name which he won in Hamburg last year. He also made it to the finals in Kuala Lumpur losing to Michal Youzhny to end the season in top 50. Golubev has a strong forehand which he uses very effectively
in the matches. His court coverage and strong baseline play can certainly pose problems for the Cypriot, but he still is a favourite for this clash.
The two players have never played each other previously and although the Kazakh has improved significantly over the last few years, the clash is likely to end in Baghdatis’s favour.
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