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March 1, 2004
Federer bidding for second success in Dubai
By Alaric Gomes, Gulf News
Top seed and World No.1 Roger Federer hopes to continue the good work started by Justine Henin-Hardenne in Dubai.
"It's nice to see that Justine has won the women's title here," Federer told journalists before he starts the defence of his title here against Marat Safin of Russia.
"I'm still at the start of my title defence and have a long way to go this week," Federer admitted. "It does put some sort of pressure on me. But my goal is to take one match at a time and play well right through the week," Federer stated.
One definite advantage for Federer is the kind record he holds going into a tournament as a top seed.
"I've done well every time I've been given the top seeding. I had the top seeding here last year and I went on to win the title. As a top seed, I have also won titles at other places. So I hope to continue this trend here as well," the sweet Swiss said.
And like Henin-Hardenne, Federer's career really took off after a fine start in Dubai last year. "Yes, Dubai is very, very special for me," he smiled.
"This tournament gave me a lot of confidence, especially winning outdoors. Till then, I was struggling with my outdoor game and night sessions weren't really my favourite. But all this changed here in Dubai," Federer acknowledged.
The top seed refrained from looking beyond his first round encounter against Australian Open losing finalist Marat Safin – billed as the match of the tournament here on centre court tomorrow.
"This is the toughest first round match I've ever played in a tournament," Federer smiled. "At first, I couldn't believe who I was playing. And by his standard, being 30 in the rankings is low. I've got to stop him from rising fast," Federer stressed.
"But, for the tournament, it's really very exciting. However, it's a big risk for both of us as there can be only one winner. And whoever wins, will have a few other tough guys waiting for him down the draw," Federer said.
"This tournament is great here and I get the feeling that I am playing in a Masters Series event."
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