Djokovic wins Dubai Duty Free Championship

Djokovic won the Dubai Duty Free Championship for a fifth time after beating Tsitsipas in straight sets.

The Dubai Duty Free Championship Champion would be determined after a match between Djokovic and Tsitsipas. Both played very good tennis all week and the Dubai crowd would have a treat in the final. Djokovic was optimistic ahead of the final albeit also quite realistic.

The first event went largely as expected. It started off with both players steadily easing themselves into the game with solid serves and good baseline play. Neither player allowed any break points early in the match. Tsitsipas was more aggressive on his serve hitting 4 aces to Novak's Zero. He was also a bit better on his 1st serve winning it at a higher rate then Novak. But Novak won the set 6-3. So how did he do it?

Well, he was better when it mattered the most. At 4-3 Tsitsipas had a down game serving-wise. He allowed a breakpoint which Novak converted immediately. He was largely aided by the greek's poor 2nd service play. Even the support of the Dubai crowd didn't help Tsitsipas as he cracked under the pressure against the world number 1.

Set #2

The 2nd set started out in great fashion as both players continued to play well. Djokovic struck 1st breaking his opponent to take a 3-2 lead and everything looked ready for another Nole triumph. However, it was the greek who struck back to tie it at 3-3. Djokovic played exceptional tennis but the greek defended as not many could.

They exchanged games to make it 4-4. It was all Novak from then as he put up a clinic in that game. He completely outplayed the greek both shot-wise and tactically. Novak was serving for the match and he did it clinically. The greek racked up a few mistakes sending forehands wide and Djokovic triumphed. It was a solid display by the Serbian who won it because of experience and execution. Tsitsipas was a bit exhausted and it proved too much for him today.

Congratulations to Djokovic on another trophy. The end result was 6-3 6-4. It wasn't the greatest of finals but the Doha crowd wasn't disappointed. You don't get to see the World number one go to work every day after all.

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