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Roger Federer claimed his sixth Dubai title in 2014 over Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych. The Swiss returned to one of his favorite events in 2015 and reached the ninth final following a dominant 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Borna Coric in 56 minutes!
It was Federer's most impressive semi-final win in Dubai since beating Andre Agassi in just over 50 minutes in 2005! An 18-year-old Croat came to Dubai ranked 84th, winning just two matches that season and failing to qualify for the main draw in the desert.
However, the young gun got into the main draw as a lucky loser and prevailed over Malek Jaziri and Marcos Baghdatis. Borna ousted Andy Murray 6-1, 6-3 in the quarter-final, losing five points behind the initial shot and hoping for more against Federer the following day.
Instead, Coric did not have much left in the tank after playing five matches, falling in under an hour in his first duel against the Swiss. Roger lost serve once and stole 63% of the return points to grab five breaks from seven opportunities and race over the top.
Roger Federer stormed over Borna Coric in Dubai 2015.
The defending champion had 20 winners and 25 unforced errors. The ratio was not perfect, but it was more than enough to eclipse Borna's miserable three winners and 22 unforced errors.
The Swiss had the upper hand in the shortest and more extended rallies to stay on the title course after a relaxed day at the office. The youngster created a break chance in the encounter's first game. Federer denied it with a booming serve and fired one more to erase the second.
The Swiss sealed the game with another unreturned serve to avoid an early setback. Coric sprayed a forehand error in game two to suffer a break at 15, allowing Federer to move 3-0 up after an ace a few minutes later. The Croat held at 15 in game four to get his name on the scoreboard and created three break chances in the next one.
Borna needed only one to pull the break back when Federer netted a forehand, returning to the positive side. However, he stayed there only for a few minutes, as Roger broke again following the youngster's double fault to open a 4-2 gap.
A volley winner sent the Swiss 5-2 in front, and he closed the set with a break at love a few minutes later for 6-2 in swift 26 minutes! Unable to find the rhythm, Coric netted a backhand in the second set's second game to give serve away and fall 3-0 down soon after.
In game four, Coric saved a break point and brought it home to avoid a bagel against a determined opponent. Roger landed two service winners in the next one for 4-1, making another step toward the finish line. Covering the court beautifully, the defending champion secured another break in game six.
Federer sealed the deal with a comfortable hold in the next one to arrange the title clash with Novak Djokovic.