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Dubai 500: Federer and Djokovic Lead Injury-Stricken Field Into Second Round
Published: February 23, 2011
That may have gone some way to healing the wounds opened by the absence of two of its biggest names, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. It may also have reduced the stress of seeing world No. 4 Robin Soderling steal the headlines in Marseille with his third title in four events and watching Andy Roddick bring the house down in Memphis with his 30th career title.
It will not, however, have done much to counter the swath of disappointments that hit Dubai in its opening round.
The popular Cypriot, Marcos Baghdatis, playing in what promised to be an attractive opener against the biggest riser of 2010, Andrey Golubev, retired after just four games with the flu.
Another close match-up between No. 41 Feliciano Lopez and No. 42 Yen-Hsun Lu ended prematurely when the Taipei man also retired ill after losing five games in a row.
The glorious single-handed backhand of Ivan Ljubicic was killed off in the first game of the second set by a calf injury, and what promised to be the highlight of opening Monday between the shot-making flair of Richard Gasquet and the Federer-lite teenager Grigor Dimitrov, turned into an error-ridden letdown of just one hour.
As if to rain on Dubai’s parade, it did just that: It rained in the desert.
What a relief, then, that the big boys, the money-makers, the top two seeds with the best form of the last five months, did their bit for Dubai’s reputation.
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, both former Dubai champions, were making their first appearances since the Australian Open, which also marked the last time they played one another.
Most spectators—in Dubai and elsewhere—hope for a 21st meeting between them come Sunday, but first Federer faced th...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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