Dubai Championships title with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Fourth-seeded Roger Federer ended top-seeded Novak Djokovics chance of defending his Dubai Championships title with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 semifinal win on Friday. Federer will be looking for his sixth Dubai title when he plays third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in Saturdays final. Berdych reached his second consecutive Dubai Championships final with a tough 7-5, 7-5 semifinal win over seventh-seeded Philiipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Federer now leads Djokovic 17-15 in their career head-to-head meetings. He also leads Djokovic 13-12 when competing on hard courts. "He deserved to win," Djokovic said. "He played in the second part of the match better and was more aggressive and played all around the court really well." Djokovic had won their last three matches and nine of their last 12 matches. Hes twice won three consecutive matches against Federer, but never has won four in a row. "Right now Im just happy that I was able to win the match," Federer said. "I dont care so much about the head-to-heads. "But its nice to be in the finals here in Dubai again." For the first set-and-a-half, Djokovic looked as if he would have an easy time reaching the final. Djokovic established an early lead when Federer lost his serve in an error-filled second game of the first set. Serving at 5-3, Djokovic won the first set on his third set point of the game with a clean ace down the middle. Midway through the second set, it seemed as though Federer remembered that his new part-time coach Stefan Edberg, who is not in Dubai, is urging him to play more offensively. From that point on, Federer started to come into the net and volley more often, which was an effective strategy that Djokovic couldnt handle. "I think I was able to play a bit more aggressive as the match went on," Federer said. "For me it was just a matter of playing consistent, but remain aggressive. "Clearly it was close, but I think I got the right balance." Djokovic doesnt seem to be interested in learning to use the net effectively now that he has Boris Becker, who was a serve and volley type of player, as his new head coach. "Weve been working on certain details in my game, but its nothing significant that Im going to change," Djokovic said. "Im not going to play serve and volley." In the second set, Djokovic surrendered his serve in an error-riddled sixth game to put Federer in position to even the score at one set apiece. Federer broke Djokovics serve in the first and fifth games of the third set to set up the win. In the final game, Federer saved two break points when serving for the match in the final game. Berdych enters the final on a 11-match winning streak. He arrived in Dubai having won his first title in over a year at Rotterdam two weeks ago. "I think hes playing very well right now," Federer said. "This is a big match for him tomorrow (Saturday) as well. "I will try to stop him and play a good match myself." Berdych now leads Kohlschreiber 8-1 in career matches played. In the first set, Kohlschreiber broke out to a 4-2 lead after Berdych lost his serve in the opening game of the match. From 5-3 for Kohlschreiber, Berdych won the next four games to win the first set, which lasted one hour, 28 minutes. The second set stayed on serve until the very last game, when Kohlschreiber surrendered his serve at 15-40 for Berdych to return to the final. "The second final in a row with so many great players in the draw here is a great result for me," Berdych said. "Its great to be able to be hitting the ball so nice and clean." Calle Jarnkrok Predators Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Juuse Saros Jersey . Pierre last November, only to watch St. Pierre leave the UFC octagon with his welterweight title belt and a split-decision victory. http://www.authenticpredatorspro.com/Pekka-rinne-predators-jersey/ . 25 against Miami. 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SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - Erik Compton is happy with where he is in golf, and hes not referring to his 5-under 65 on Thursday for a share of the lead in the McGladrey Classic.A return to Sea Island provides an occasion to take stock of how far he has come in the last 13 years, and what Compton refers to as the hurdles he didnt anticipate.Theres a medical term for these hurdles. Its called a second heart transplant.Im almost 35 years old. Ive had a good career in golf, really, he said. Even though Ive had some time off, Ive been able to support myself and have a good life.Compton remarkably earned a PGA Tour card just four years after he drove himself to the hospital while suffering a heart attack, dodging death until he received a second transplant. He now is in his fourth straight season on golfs toughest circuit, and he has shown steady improvement.The next step is to win, and Compton has been around long enough not to get overly excited about a good start.He opened with a pair of birdies in the morning chill on the Seaside Course at Sea Island, dropped only one shot and joined Sea Island resident Brian Harman, Michael Thompson and Will MacKenzie in the lead.Chesson Hadley was among six players one shot behind. More than half of the field was at par or better on a gentle day for scoring.I expect I should win this year. Thats a goal of mine, Compton said. Its always been a goal, but I think every time I get on the course it becomes more of a realistic expectation.Compton first played Sea Island when he competed in the SEC Championship while at Georgia in 2001. A few months later, Compton played in the Walker Cup at nearby Ocean Forest.The first hurdle when he turned pro was realizing that everybody out here is really, really, really, really good. The more serious hurdle was his heart.Compton had his first transplant when he 12 because of cardiomyopathy, an enlarging of the heart that hinders its ability to pump blood. He had his second in 2008 and ended that year by making the cut in the final PGA Tour event.His story never gets old, and Compton is happy to tell it, especially if that means bringing attention to the Donate Life America campaign. He prefers to look ahead, at the next shot, the next tournament, trying to get the most he can out of his game, just like the guys he is trying to beat.ddddddddddddompton has reached the FedEx Cup playoff the last two seasons and advanced to the third round at the BMW Championship last month. In the short off-season, he spent more time in the gym trying to get stronger at the recommendation of former Miami Heat guard Ray Allen.I went to the gym with him a couple of times and played him for some money games in Miami, Compton said. He was just trying to motivate me to get in better shape. So I worked out a little bit. And then just played five or six rounds with him before I went back on the road.Easy money? Compton smiled.I got him five ways one day, he said without mentioning a dollar amount.Compton played on that Walker Cup team with 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover along with Bryce Molder and D.J. Trahan, who both went on to win on the PGA Tour. The Britain & Ireland team featured former world No. 1 Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell, the U.S. Open champion at Pebble Beach.Comptons hopes were not much different from theirs — turn pro, win tournaments.I think when I was younger, I had some unrealistic expectations, he said. I knew I was a good player. I obviously had some hurdles that I had to deal with in front of me, which I didnt see coming. I didnt know I was going to have to deal with that.Whats real to him now is being a PGA Tour regular. Hes going to the Masters next year for the first time, courtesy of his runner-up finish in the U.S. Open. That remains his biggest highlight in golf.Whats next? Hes curious to find out. Compton is learning not to swing so hard to take advantage of his putting stroke.I just want to get the ball in play and hit on the green and see where I can go, he said. And thats difficult to do in four days, and its proven difficult for a lot of guys who have never won on tour who have great careers. I happen to be one of those guys right now, and I feel like if I can do the things like I did today and get out of my own way, theres no reason I shouldnt continue to progress in this game.DIVOTS: Mark Anderson had the first ace in tournament history, a 4-iron from 212 yards on No. 3. ... Matt Kuchar and Webb Simpson were in the group at 67, while defending champion Chris Kirk opened with a 68. ... McGladrey extended its title sponsorship through 2020. ' ' '