Roger Federer Posts Trophy Selfie After Claiming 7th Dubai Title
Roger Federer has successfully defended his Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title after beating top-ranked and rival Novak Djokovic in straight sets, 6-3 7-5, on Feb. 28. Federer may be used to winning trophies in his illustrious tennis career, but his recent victory didn’t stop the Swiss great from sharing the pleasure he felt after receiving another trophy.
The 33-year-old 17-time grand slam champion took to social media to show his seventh Dubai Tennis Championships singles trophy. “Look what I’ve got in the trunk of my car,” Federer wrote, adding the hashtag “#TrophySelfie” on Twitter on March 1.
Federer thanked the tournament organisers for hosting another amazing event. He also congratulated Djokovic for kicking off the 2015 tennis season to a great start. He also thanked the fans for the tremendous support during his Dubai campaign.
Federer described his Dubai Tennis Championships victory as something “crazy.” He said that he may have had a bit of an advantage over the Serbian since he does his training sessions in Dubai.
“The seventh is quite unbelievable, what I hear people talking about that, announcing I’m the seven or six-time winner her in Dubai, sounds pretty crazy,” Federer said after the match via the tournament’s website. “I guess it definitely helps practicing in Dubai quite a bit, I know how the ball flies and the conditions here.”
Federer had to save break points at 1-1 in the first set, but he managed to pull through it, eventually closing out the opening set. According to him, he definitely thought that the first set belonged to him but reckoned that the second set was controlled more by Djokovic, saying that the Serbian had put a lot of pressure on him.
In the second set at 5-5, where Djokovic had a 40-0 lead, Federer fought back to break the Serbian’s serve with a forehand winner to edge ahead, leaving him serving for the title. He fired 12 aces in the Dubai final, making him the fourth player to crack the 9,000 career aces mark since 1991 after Goran Ivanisevic (10,183 aces), Ivo Karlovic (9,375 aces) and Andy Roddick (9,074).
Federer still leads his head-to-head record with Djokovic, now at 20-17 after the Dubai final win. The finale was Federer and Djokovic’s fourth meeting in Dubai.
Federer’s Dubai Tennis Championships victory also marks his 84th tournament win in the Association of Tennis Professionals’ tour. It is his second for this year. Federer won his first title of the 2015 season at the Brisbane International.
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