Novak Djokovic remains the man to beat in world tennis after a resounding straight sets win over Roger Federer in the Dubai final.
Djokovic's start to 2011 just shows what confidence can do to a player. Winning the Davis Cup for Serbia was the catalyst and since then Djokovic has scaled new heights. No one could handle him in Melbourne as he brushed aside three of the world's best in a row to win his second Grand Slam title and he dealt with Roger Federer's challenge in today's Dubai final in similar style.
Federer has rarely been outplayed so convincingly as he went down 6-3, 6-3 in just over an hour. Djokovic simply had more depth, power and consistently and he targeted the Swiss' sometimes erratic backhand with relentless purpose.
Djokovic was going for a hat-trick of Dubai titles and he was strutting about centre court with the presence of a man who knows he's in the form of his life. After one Federer forehand winner, he even had the temerity to shout 'Bravo' to the sixteen time Grand Slam champion, something which would not have helped the often frosty relations between the two men.
“I have this feeling in my head, and it's really important to know for me that I can perform this well,” Djokovic said. “This match has probably been one of the best that I played this year. I want to keep it up, definitely. I feel physically well, fit, mentally motivated to do even more coming up to Indian Wells and Miami where I haven't done well in the last years.
“Any time I win against Roger it's a great success because he's such a great player. We all know how mentally strong of a player he is. To be able to win against Roger in straight sets as I did tonight is incredible, but I want to keep on going. I know that I have qualities to do even more, and that's what I want.”
Djokovic remains unbeaten in 2011 but he will face greater tests in next month's Masters Series where the hot, humid conditions will not favour him. He is still prone to struggling physically as shown by his ardous semi-final against Tomas Berdych but apart from that there are few flaws in his armoury right now.
