Novak Djokovic reigns supreme in Dubai

Novak Djokovic secured his fourth Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title in five years after defeating Tomas Berdych in the final yesterday (March 2nd).The Serbian superstar won 7-5, 6-3 in a tight encounter with the Czech player at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.Berdych had done fantastically well to get to this stage of the tournament and he recorded a memorable victory over Swiss ace Roger Federer in the semi-finals.However, there was to be no further upset, as world number one Djokovic punished Berdych's tiniest mistakes in ruthless fashion."I really felt that I could rely on my serve. And in tough moments, that part of my game actually helped me to prevail. I hung in there and stayed tough. This is the important thing," the new champion remarked.Both players also agreed that the UAE-based competition should be upgraded from an ATP 500 series to the highest 1000 level and they even talked about this while on court."I don't know a single player who has played here and has a negative feeling about the tournament," Djokovic added.The hard-hitting Serbian said that most players he speaks to wish the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships was played over a longer period.Berdych insisted that Dubai has all the necessary ingredients to become one of the greatest tournaments on the planet."It could be really easily competing for the best 1000 tournament in the world," he commented.The fact that two of the finest tennis players on earth hold Dubai in such high regard highlights the city's growing status as a global sporting hub.They are not the only ones who have a new-found respect for the emirate, as football legend Diego Maradona recently told Gulf News that Dubai is the "Disneyland of sport" and the rest of the world is looking on in envy.He insisted that no other place is better than Dubai when it comes to hosting top-class competitions and sporting events.