Roger Federer claimed his first Dubai Open title in five years in 2012, restoring order in the desert. Federer dropped Andy Murray in the title clash to celebrate the title and pick up where he left off in Rotterdam.. Roger raised his level in the closing stages of the 2011 season and went on to 17 straight wins to conquer Basel, Paris and the ATP Finals.
Rafael Nadal stopped the Swiss in the 2012 Australian Open semifinal, and Federer returned to winning ways in February. Roger claimed the title in Rotterdam and sought another in Dubai. Federer needed 67 minutes to start the campaign with a 6-0, 7-6 win over Michael Llodra.
The Swiss dropped 14 points on serve and broke the Frenchman three times in the opening set before a much closer battle in set number two that ended 8-6 on the tiebreaker. In the peer-to-peer clash, Roger defeated Feliciano López 7-5, 6-3 in 76 minutes.
She lost nine points on serve and never faced problems on serve. Roger scored a break in each set to reach the quarterfinals.
Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray in the 2007 Dubai final.
In a repeat of the 2007 final, Federer beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-4 in 70 minutes, creating 11 chances on returns and defending his serve beautifully to secure the semi-final spot.
Roger battled Juan Martín del Potro 7-6, 7-6 for a place in the final, wasting all six break points but maintaining his composure on tiebreaks to emerge on top. Federer faced Andy Murray in the final and scored a 7-5, 6-4 triumph in one hour and 37 minutes for his fifth desert crown..
Both players struggled to find the first serve and Federer saved two of three break points to keep the pressure on the other side. Roger took 40% of the return points and hit three breaks in nine chances.
The Swiss had more winners and the advantage in the fastest rallies up to four strokes. He kept in touch with Murray at midrange and more lengthy exchanges to prevail in straight sets and lift the title. The servers held after the deuce in the opening games, and Andy created the first break chances in game six after Roger’s backhand error.
The Swiss repelled them and won four points in a row to close the match with a game-winning volley. Serving at 5-5, Murray had to dig deep to defend serve. He repelled the first four break points before Roger converted the fifth to clinch a break and close out the opener with three winners in game 12.
Driven by this momentum, Federer broke in the third game of the second set when Murray made a backhand error. Roger cemented it to a love point before Andy pulled back the break in the sixth game to extend his chances. The Brit saved a break point to win the third game in a row and move up 4-3, looking good to fight to the last point.
However, the Swiss broke it at 15 in game nine to carve out the lead and serve for the title at 5-4. Andy kept in touch until two before Roger crossed the line with a forehand cross to celebrate his second title of the season and first in Dubai since 2007..
