Six-time major champion Novak Djokovic and 17-time major champion Roger Federer have combined to win nine of the last 11 titles at the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai.  One of them will have the chance to make it 10 of 12 after they set up a blockbuster semifinal in the Persian Gulf.  While Djokovic received a walkover from Mikhail Youzhny, Federer dismissed Lukas Rosol for the loss of only four games.  

The two superstars never clashed on an outdoor court last season, although Djokovic twice defeated Federer on indoor hard courts.  Their only meeting since the 2011 US Open on an outdoor hard court came in the 2012 Cincinnati final, which Federer won in straight sets.  Three years ago, however, Djokovic cruised past Federer in the Dubai final during his 41-0 start to 2011.  A win for the Serb would even his head-to-head record against the Swiss for the first time.  A win for the Swiss would snap an eight-match losing streak against his two main rivals, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

In semifinals, Djokovic leads this matchup 10-8.  He also has won six of their seven meetings at non-majors over the last three years, the exception coming in that Cincinnati final.  But most of the matches have been extremely competitive, including two three-setters last fall at the Paris Masters 1000 tournament and the ATP World Tour Finals.  Djokovic has looked somewhat the sharper player this week, needing barely two hours to win his two matches.  But Federer sandwiched an uneven three-setter in the second round between two emphatic victories of his own.  

With Masters 1000 tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami on the horizon, Dubai offers an opportunity for one of the two rivals to strike an early blow against the other's confidence while lifting his own spirits.  This match also marks the first coaching face-off between Boris Becker (Djokovic) and Stefan Edberg (Federer).  Those new partnerships seized headlines during the off-season and rank among the most intriguing stories of early 2014.  Becker won 25 of their 35 meetings in one of the ATP's longest rivalries, but Edberg produced better results from his charge at the Australian Open.  Will that trend continue, or will Becker flip the script?

The winner of the Djokovic-Federer duel will enter the final as the clear favorite against the winner of a semifinal pitting Tomas Berdych against Philipp Kohlschreiber.  In a disappointingly routine affair, Berdych cruised through a clash of top-10 men on Thursday when he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  The Frenchman has lost 21 of his last 24 matches against fellow members of the top 10.  New coaches Thierry Ascione and Nicolas Escude have not yet helped him deliver on his vow to compete more effectively with the elite.  

But Berdych had enjoyed a far stronger start to the season, reaching the Australian Open semifinals and winning the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam.  He eyes a second straight final in Dubai, where he fell to Djokovic but defeated Federer last year.