Roger Federer storms into Qatar Open final
World number two Roger Federer continued his good form in the Qatar Open, and made it through to the final of the tournament. Federer ended the 2010 season on a high with victory at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, and has started the 2011 season
with some exceptional consistency.
Federer was up against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who struggled with a knee injury in 2010. Federer had a very good start to the match, as he took a 3-0 lead after breaking Tsonga’s serve early.
The early break proved to be decisive in the first set and Federer easily wrapped it up with a 6-3 score line. The second set though, was much tougher for Federer as Tsonga served very well throughout.
The second set was decided on a tie-break, as both players produced some excellent tennis. Both players held their serves, but it was Federer who prevailed in the tie-break, winning the match 6-3, 7-6.
In the post-match interview, Federer said, “I thought I started off the match really well. In the second set it got a bit more competitive. I think he started to play better and better. Fortunately I was serving well, that kept me out of a bit of trouble.
I was able to play a bit better in the tie-break and in the end it was a great match for me, because Tsonga can play really, really well.”
This is the third time that Federer has made it to the final of the Qatar Open. He was the winner when he got to the final on the previous two occasions in 2005 and 2006.
Federer will face Nikolay Davydenko in the final. Davydenko defeated world number one Rafael Nadal in the other semi-final. The Swiss player expects a tough competition in the final against the Russian Davydenko.
Commenting on Davydenko’s form, Federer said, “I think Nikolay actually has a very good record in finals, and that makes him tough to play in a final. I feel well and I’ll definitely have a chance with all my experience and the level I’m playing at right
now.”
Amongst the two, Federer has a better record. He has beaten Davydenko in 14 matches and lost to the Russian just twice. One of the two defeats came in the semi-final of the Qatar Open last year, which Davydenko went on to win after defeating Nadal in the
final.
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