Playing from behind against Novak Djokovic always has been an uphill battle for Roger Federer.  Entering their Dubai semifinal on Friday, Federer had lost all 10 of his meetings with Djokovic when he had lost the first set.  But he also had won five titles in the city that has become a home away from home for the Swiss superstar.

That history had not helped Federer against the Serb in 2011, when he lost the Dubai final in straight sets.  Today, though, he turned the tables with a formidable serving performance that left the best returner in the ATP (and perhaps in ATP history) without answers.  Federer saved all five break points on his serve across the second and third sets to move within one victory of his sixth Dubai title. 

For his part, Djokovic did not play poorly across the first two sets.  He dropped serve only once during that span and protected his second serve effectively.  Having won two three-set matches from Federer last fall, he should have entered the final set confident that he could repeat the result.  And yet Djokovic faded sharply in the third set, failing to dominate even behind his first serve or capitalize on the handful of opportunities that Federer gave him.  He will leave Dubai for an exhibition in New York City on Monday with some regrets for what might have been.

Not until May last season did Federer reach his first final.  This season, he has reached the final at both non-majors that he has played.  Last season, he did not defeat any member of the Big Four that includes Rafael Nadal, Djokovic, and Andy Murray in addition to Federer.  This season, he already has defeated both Djokovic and Murray, whom he outlasted in a four-set Australian Open quarterfinal.  New coach Stefan Edberg should earn some of the credit for that achievement, as should Federer himself for his resilience in the wake of 2013 adversity.

If Edberg has played a role in revitalizing Federer’s fortunes, the same cannot be said for Boris Becker early in his partnership with Djokovic.  Becker started working with the Serb over the off-season, when Federer added Edberg to his team, and the contrast between the performances of the two men since then has been notable.  To be fair, Djokovic lost to the eventual champion at the Australian Open, and he may well have lost to the eventual champion in Dubai.  There is no shame in losing to the best player in the field, except for the fact that the Serb is accustomed (at least on hard courts) to being that player.

But the manner of those losses, both of which came after winning the first set, showed the opposite of the mental fortitude that he asked Becker to instill in him.  In fact, this match was the first time that Djokovic has lost to a fellow member of the Big Four on a hard court after winning the first set.  He has said that crucial matches slipped away from him in 2013 because he lacked that mental fortitude, which defined his success in his three-major campaign of 2011.  So far in 2014, that trend has deepened rather than receded.  Since it comprises the main reason for adding Becker to his team, minds will start to wonder whether this partnership will succeed in the long term.

In the final, Federer will face 2013 Dubai runner-up Tomas Berdych, who defeated him in a semifinal on this court last year.