By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, February 27, 2015
Roger Federer broke serve five times, dismissing Borna Coric in 56 minutes to reach the Dubai final for the ninth time.
Photo credit: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
A fact-finding mission sent Roger Federer on line to view video of 18-year-old opponent Borna Coric. The 33-year-old Swiss didn't waste too much much time translating that knowledge to power.
The reigning champion transformed today's semifinal into an educational experience.
Schooling the lucky loser in the art of all-court tennis, Federer needed just 56 minutes to dismiss Coric, 6-2, 6-1, and roar into his ninth Dubai final.
Djokovic: Coric is Next Nole
The talented Croat showed his class permitting only five points on serve in dissecting third-ranked Andy Murray to reach his second career semifinal.
Coric challenged in two of Federer's first three service games, but had no answer for the second seed's aggressive attack and looked helpless trying defend his second serve. Federer won 12 of 15 points on Coric's second serve, often commanded control of rallies from the second shot and forced the teenager to counter from defensive positions on court.
Coric won the toss and elected to receive, giving him time to work out the nerves and find his range. Initially, it was Federer who was unsettled. A double fault and an errant forehand from Federer left the second-seeded Swiss facing two break points in the opening game. Federer used his twisting first serve to fight off both then set out to deconstruct Coric's forehand.
Drawing a forehand error, Federer broke at 15 for 2-0. The six-time champion won 10 of 12 points seizing a 3-0 lead after just eight minutes of play.
Coric amped up the aggression on his groundstrokes and grunt in the fifth game. Hitting almost exclusively to Federer's one-handed backhand the teenager drew an errant backhand for triple break point. When Federer flattened a forehand into net, Coric broke at love to get back on serve.
It was the last time he posed significant scoreboard pressure as Federer began to take the ball earlier and test the teenager's forehand with a varying array of spins and speeds.
The 84th-ranked Croat hits his forehand with a more extreme western grip, which can create complications when he's confronted with the low ball to the forehand side. He scattered a forehand wide to face double-break point then spit out a double fault, dropping serve to fall behind 2-4.
Federer used the low slice to Coric's forehand to draw an error then knocked off a forehand volley winner extending his advantage to 5-2.
The reigning champion's comfort level was high when he pulled off an audacious side-spinning drop shot. Coric caught up to it, but Federer was waiting and blocked a backhand volley into the open court. That sequence seemed to unsettle the teen. He clanked a double-fault and misfired on a running forehand dropping serve at love for the second time as Federer seized the opening set in 27 minutes.
Playing with control in breezy conditions, Federer served 80 percent and converted all three break points in the first set.
Coric is an emotionally-expressive player who channeled his excitement into positive action against Murray. Festering frustration began bubbling to the surface, slapping his thigh with his hand, belting a ball in disgust and barking at both himself and his coach in anger when he lost his fifth straight game to fall behind 0-2 in the second set.
An aggressive front-runner, Federer began stepping inside the baseline more frequently stretching the lead to 3-0.
That predicament prompted Coric to make some noise. He spent much of the ensuing changeover muttering at himself. Apparently, the monologue was motivational. Coric cracked a forehand winner down the line to save a break point, eventually snapping a six-game slide for 1-3.
The six-foot-one Coric showed shrewd anticipation and stubborn defense in his upset of Andy Murray. But facing Federer, who spent much of the second set moving forward and closing net, Coric couldn't get away with floating back stretched replies.
Struggling to read the direction of Federer's shots, Coric looked a half-step slow in the latter stages of the second set. When Federer slid an audacious drop shot slithering with severe backspin, Coric nearly ran out of his Nikes trying to burst forward and track the ball down.
The talented teenager could not close the gap on the reigning champion.
Federer will face either world No. 1 Novak Djokovic or Tomas Berdych in the final. He is 19-17 against Djokovic and has won 12 of 18 meetings with Berdych.