Novak Djokovic And Roger Federer Through To The Quarterfinals At Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Top-ranked players Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have advanced into the quarterfinals round of the 2015 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Djokovic defeated Andrey Golubev in straight sets 6-1 6-2, while Federer beat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco also in straight sets 6-4 6-3, to reach the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships quarterfinals.

Top seed Djokovic, who was drawn in the top half of the draw, cruised through tournament back-to-back victories in the early rounds. He defeated Canada’s Pospisil 6-4 6-4 in the first round. He continued his Dubai title quest by beating Golubev in the next round 6-1 6-2.

Djokovic only needed an hour to secure his quarterfinals berth in Dubai. The Serbian athlete completely dominated the match from start to finish. He pulled off 75 percent of points won on first serve compared to Golubev’s 59 percent. He continued his service dominance by winning 11 of his 15 (73 percent) second service games.

According to Djokovic, he felt confident going into the second round after having won his first match against Pospisil. Djokovic’s good footwork and unswerving groundstrokes were enough for him to score an easy victory over Golubev.

“It was a much better performance than yesterday,” Djokovic said via the Association of Tennis Professionals’ Web site. “Hopefully, I can improve as the tournament progresses."

Djokovic will face 104^th-ranked Marsel Ilhan in the quarterfinals on Feb. 26 not later than 7 p.m. GST. It will be the first meeting for both.

In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Federer has also advanced in the last eight. Federer, who is the reigning Dubai Open champion, began his campaign against Mikhail Youhzny. The Swiss 17-time grand slam champion defeated Youhzny in straight sets 6-3 6-1 in the opener to move on to the second round.

Federer booked his quarterfinals place after beating Verdasco 6-4 6-3. He survived scare after Verdasco let 4-1 in the first set and made a comeback to eventually win the match. Federer scored four aces compared to Verdasco’s five. He won five of his seven break point opportunities.

“I’ve very happy how the match went,” Federer said after the match. “I think it was a good quality match for my side.”

Federer wil play Frenchman Richard Gasquet on Feb. 26 not later than 7 p.m. GST. He leads their head-to-head 13-2.

The other players who made it in the last eight of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships are Tomas Berdych and new World No. 3 Andy Murray. Berdych will play Sergiy Stakhovskiy while Murray is set to clash with Borna Coric in the quarterfinals. All quarterfinal matches will be staged at Dubai’s Centre Court starting at 3 p.m. GST.

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