Federer subdues Berdych to win sixth Dubai title

Roger Federer roared back from a set and a break down to subdue Tomas Berdych 3-6 6-4 6-3 in the Dubai Championships final on Saturday as the Swiss maestro sealed a 78th singles title.

Federer had recovered from a similar position to stun world number two Novak Djokovic in Friday's semi-final and the 32-year-old again struggled early on before he dug deep to claim a sixth Dubai crown.

"It was a tough match," fourth seed Federer said in a courtside interview. "Tomas had the advantage and could have, should have, brought it home, but maybe I got a little lucky."

Roger Federer in Dubai Championship Finals

Third-seeded Roger Federer ended top-seeded Novak Djokovic's chance of defending his Dubai Championships title with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 semifinal win Friday.

Federer will be looking for his sixth Dubai title when he plays third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in Saturday's final. Federer now leads Djokovic 17-15 in their career head-to-head meetings.

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.

In the second set, Djokovic surrendered his serve in the sixth game to put Federer in position to even the score at one set apiece. Federer broke Djokovic's serve in the first and fifth games of the third set to set up the win.

Federer saved two break points when serving for the match in the final game.