Story highlights
Novak Djokovic eases into quarterfinals in Dubai with straight sets win
Three-time defending champion beats Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-5 6-3
Roger Federer also progresses with comfortable win over Feliciano Lopez
Andy Murray to play Tomas Berdych in the last eight
Three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic overcame a stubborn challenge from Ukranian Sergiy Stakhovsky to reach the quarterfinals in Dubai Wednesday.
The World No.1 trailed 1-3 in the second set before winning the next five games to close out a 7-5 6-3 victory in 90 minutes.
It earned him a last eight clash with fellow Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, who beat Italy’s Flavrio Cipolla 6-7 6-1 6-1 at the ATP 500 tournament.
The last time the pair met was in the round-robin stages of the ATP World Tour Finals in London last November where Tipsarevic scored a shock victory over his compatriot.
“I need to try to be aggressive. I need to try to stay close to the line. That’s all. He doesn’t have many weaknesses in his game,” Djokovic told the official ATP website.
Second seed Roger Federer is also through to the quarterfinals after a later 7-5 6-3 win over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez.
The Swiss maestro needed just one hour 15 minutes to wrap up victory as he bids for back to back tournament wins after claiming the Rotterdam title.
Federer, who is bidding for a fifth Dubai crown, has a repeat of his 2007 final win as he next faces Mikhail Youzhny.
The Russian went through with a 6-2 7-6 win over against American sixth seed Mardy Fish.
Britain’s Andy Murray, playing his first tournament since losing to Djokovic in an epic semifinal at the Australian Open, also went through with a routine 6-3 6-4 win over Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli.
The third seed needed three sets to beat Michael Berrer in his opening match but broke service once in each set against Chiudinelli to progress.
Standing in his way in the quarterfinals will be giant Czech Tomas Berdych, who dispatched Slovak qualifier Lukas Lacko 6-1 6-2 in just 70 minutes.
Murray said he was relishing the match-up with fifth seed Berdych.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing guys that are big hitters. That’s his game. I’ll have to try and find a way of neutralizing that by getting the first hit in the rallies, using a lot variety in my game. He can make mistakes, but you need to force him into doing that,” he said.
