Dubai: Defending champion Novak Djokovic, who took away Roger Federer's Australian Open title last month, beat him again to prevent the former world number one from regaining the Dubai Open title on Saturday.
The second-seeded Serbian won with something to spare by 6-3, 6-3, outplaying the Swiss maestro in the first set and recovering from 1-3 down in the second as Federer had constant problems with his timing and rhythm off the ground.
It gained Djokovic his third successive title at the 1.6-million-dollar event, and suggested that he has every chance of leapfrogging Federer next month into the world number two ranking.
"I played really well here," said Djokovic. "It's a great challenge playing Roger Federer and I had to be at the top of my game if I was going to win."