Roger Federer swatted aside Andy Murray 7-5, 6-4 to win the Dubai Championships Saturday, the Swiss maestro's 72nd tour title, as he abandoned the baseline to dominate from the net. The 16-time Grand Slam winner may no longer be favorite for the top prizes but few can match his longevity or dedication on the gruelling men's tour and the 30-year-old claimed his fifth Dubai title without dropping a set all week. Third-seeded Murray went into Saturday's final with an 8-6 winning record against No. 2 seed Federer, although the Swiss has won both of their grand slam encounters. The Briton too often comes up short in the big matches against the sport's elite despite his world No. 4 ranking, one place behind the Swiss. Murray, 24, did beat world No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Friday to reach the final and gain revenge for his semifinal defeat by the Serb in January's Australian Open. But he was strangely lackluster against Federer and struggled to get his service going with his first serve percentage dipping from a modest 58 in his opening four service games to a lamentable 38 over the next five. Federer, in response, switched tactics to no longer hug the baseline and instead prowled the net at every opportunity on both his and Murray's serve. India's Mahesh Bhupathi claimed his 50th doubles title when he and compatriot Rohan Bopanna clinched a 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 win over Poland's Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in the final. Bhupathi and Bopanna joined forces full-time at the beginning of the season, with their eyes firmly set on the London Olympics. Ferrer-Verdasco final David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco both won in straight sets Friday to set up an all-Spanish final at the Mexican Open. Top seed and defending champion Ferrer was tested but prevailed against Colombian Santiago Giraldo 7-5, 6-4, while Verdasco defeated Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 6-3, 6-3. Ferrer and Giraldo were closely matched but the Spaniard was able to convert two of seven break points while the Colombian converted none of six. Giraldo was also restricted to winning just 11 points for the match when Ferrer got his first serve in. The eighth-seeded Verdasco didn't allow a single break opportunity to Wawrinka, cruising to victory at The Fairmont Acapulco Princess. Wawrinka saved two match points while serving in the penultimate game, then saved another in the last game, but Verdasco finally served out the match. In the women's tournament, there will also be a final of compatriots: Italians Sara Errani and Flavia Pennetta. No. 3 seed Errani eliminated top-seeded Roberta Vinci, breaking twice in each set to win 6-4, 6-1. The Italians are good friends and played the doubles tournament together. The 36th-ranked Errani will be playing for her third WTA title against Pennetta, who got past No. 4 seed Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-2, 6-2. The second-seeded Pennetta, seeking her 10th WTA title, broke Begu three times in each set to win the match.
