[3] Tomas Berdych vs. [4] Roger Federer

This match up is an overshadowed rivalry. H2H of 11-6 in Roger’s favor also depicts the same. Czech gave tough time for the Swiss on court right from their first match in 2004 Athens Olympics. Berdych’s strength is his gigantic serve and the explosive forehand. He always used those weapons effectively when playing Federer that produced some of his career best victories. Though Tomas won their previous two meetings, it’s going to be a different match altogether in the final. Roger’s form has impressed many since Basel last season.

With the change of racket and appointment of new coach Edberg at the beginning of 2014 his game looked near to the best. Dip in the rankings certainly seems to have not bothered the maestro at all. On the other hand, Berdych too looked unstoppable in the new season. Riding on a 9-match winning streak he will go into the match with great amount of confidence. It’s going to be interesting to see if Roger avenges his heartbreaking loss in the semifinals last year or Tomas keeps the winning streak alive. The kind of ball striking capabilities both players possess, it’s going to be an ultimate battle between ‘Rejuvenated’ Roger and ‘Thunder’ Tomas

My Prediction: Roger to win his sixth title in Dubai and 78th overall to make him third in the all time list with a straight sets victory.

–Harish Narahari [Harish Narahari is a Sports Analyst for the Tennis Galaxy at Sportz Cosmos He tweets here]