By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic each needed only an hour to cruise into the quarterfinals in Dubai on Wednesday.
Photo Source: Dubai Duty Free Tennis
They have won 10 of the last 12 Dubai titles, so it was no surprise that Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic each cruised into the quarterfinals in straight sets on Wednesday in Dubai.
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Djokovic blasted past Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan in just over an hour to set up a quarterfinal with Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan. The Serb did not face a break point in improving to 11-1 on the season with his fourth career decision over Golubev.
Djokovic says he’s feeling better on court, now that he has two matches under his belt in Dubai. “It was just a much better performance than yesterday,” he said. “Hopefully I can improve as the tournament progresses.”
Though Federer’s victory was a little less routine, the six-time Dubai champion actually closed proceedings quicker than Djokovic by 27 seconds. After falling behind a break in the opening set, Federer reeled off 20 consecutive points to take the opener from a shell-shocked Fernando Verdasco.
The 17-time major titlist would trade breaks with the hot and cold Spaniard in the second set, before moving ahead for good by breaking in the fifth game on his third break point when a shanked Verdasco backhand sailed just long.
Federer’s 1,004th career victory sets up a quarterfinal clash with Richard Gasquet on Thursday. The Swiss maestro owns a career 13-2 edge against the Frenchman.