Roger Federer begins his campaign for a fifth Dubai title against India's Somdev Devvarman.
Federer's straight sets loss to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals led to many pundits predictably declaring a changing of the guard but Federer insisted that such talk is very premature as he prepared to go for his fifth title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this week.
Federer simply ran into Djokovic playing the best tennis of his life and it has still been a successful few months for the Swiss. He was in sublime form at the end of November as he claimed the ATP World Finals title and he began 2011 in a similar vein of form, triumphing in Doha.
Federer was imperious in the Gulf that week and he will hoping for a repeat on a very similar surface in Dubai.
Devvarman is ranked 79 and made the Johannesburg final a few weeks ago but the Indian number one has little in his game to hurt Federer. He is predominantly a counter-puncher who toughs out matches through his speed and consistency. However Federer rarely has problems with such opposition and expect him to progress in straight sets.
