The turf is going to be the finals of the Dubai Tennis Championship, which both the players have entered on Friday. Djokovic defeated world number 7 Thomas Berdych on Friday. The Swiss world number 2 defeated Richard Gasquet of France to reach the finals.
Federer will be gunning for the fifth Dubai Tennis Championship title. He has won the tournament from 2003-2007. Djokovic, 23, will be aiming for his third straight title here.
Despite the victory over Berdych, Djokovic described the win as a “catastrophe”. According to him this was the worst game for him in 2011. But he was relieved that ultimately he won the game as that is what counts. Both the players were level at one set all and Berdych was trailing 3-4 when he had to pull out due to thing injury handing over victory to Djokovic.
Federer feels that it is not a rematch exactly as this is a final match and they met in the semi finals of the Australian Open. But the 28 year old Federer was all praise for his opponent. The fact that Djokovic hasn’t lost a single match this season and he has won the last two tournaments here, point to the fact that he is a strong contender. Federer hopes to stop Djokovic from winning the tournament for the third time and winning it for the fifth time.
The Swiss champion, however, is happy with his semi final game. He looks forward to playing Djokovic, who he feels could be dangerous towards the end of a tournament where he could have found a groove.