World number one Roger Federer continued his
spectacular run at the Qatar Open by beating Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-3,
6-1, in the final Saturday.
Federer's 21st consecutive victory brought him his 23rd win in 31
finals and his 14th final triumph in a row since 2003.
The Swiss top seed dominated the sixth-seeded Ljubicic from the start,
putting on a scintillating
display of accurate serves, fluent backhands and punishing forehands.
"I was expecting a tough match because he (Ljubicic) is a big guy with
a good serve," Federer told reporters. "He has been a dangerous
proposition to all big players. But as it turned out, it was an easy match
for me.
"But in a way it was surprise win too for me because at the start of a
new season you really don't know where to focus -- on your backhand,
forehand or serves. It will take a few matches to know where you stand."
Ljubicic, who had beaten Federer three times in six meetings, folded as
the pressure mounted and made too many unforced errors.
Federer broke Ljubicic in the sixth game to jump to a 4-2, lead and
held his next two service games to take the first set 6-3, in 35 minutes.
The second set lasted only 27 minutes as the holder of three grand slam
titles blasted his opponent off the court.
Federer broke Ljubicic in the first and fifth games as the Croatian
continued to make unforced errors.
Federer's victory ended the poor record of top seeds in the tournament,
except in 1995 when Sweden's Stefan Edberg won the title.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-10 11:33
