Novak Djokovic defeated Russian opponent Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday with a score of 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. The rain-drenched final match lasted three hours and came at the heels of Saturday’s game which had the Serb player leading by 7-5, 2-0. Rain forced a continuation of the match the following day.
The delayed match did not start well for Djokovic, who was erratic for most of his serves, although he managed to make 71 percent of points and 12 double faults. It seemed tough going for a while, especially since Youzhny started to improve his game on Sunday. Youzhny had earlier beaten the Serb player in the semi finals at Rotterdam a few weeks ago.
“Honestly, I did not have the best tournament,” the Serb champion said. “I struggled for the most part and the only day I felt comfortable was yesterday, leading the first set and 2-0 when the rain came in. And when I came out today, I struggled again and Mikhail started playing really well.’’
True enough, the two players tied at 3-3 in the third set before Djokovic proved he was the stronger player in the deciding set. This is Djokovic’s 17th career title and comes with a prize money worth $383,000 and 500 ranking points.
Roger Federer is the only player to hold to the Barclays Dubai Championship title for consecutive years when he won the title from 2003 to 2005.