Perhaps the capacity crowd that filled the Aviation Club last night for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships were not fans of Irish pop bands.
Roger Federer had revealed on Wednesday night that, as he sat refuelling between games, he was aware enough to hear U2 playing on the nearby Irish Village's sound system.
During his semi-final yesterday evening with Novak Djokovic, the only thing that could be heard between points was insistent, impassioned cheering.
Such was the show of support for the Swiss maestro that this crowd could have rivalled those that have turned out in Basel or Geneva. Federer, who owns an apartment in Dubai Marina and has won here five times, called the atmosphere “a dream”.
Even Djokovic acknowledged the support his rival gets here appears to be growing even as the 32 year old’s star is – prematurely – said to be dimming.
Djokovic is one of the most popular players on the ATP Tour, yet on Wednesday night he found himself playing to an emptying arena.
Federer had just finished dispatching Radek Stepanek in front of a capacity crowd when Djokovic entered the court moments later to meet Roberto Bautista-Agut and found empty seats aplenty as the 17-time grand slam tournament winner’s faithful departed.
Last night, it seemed that as that same support grew in vocal strength, Federer grew in mental strength. “That’s what I’ve got back right now,” he said. “ That’s why I think I have been playing consistently well for some months again.”
With the majority of the 5,000 spectators urging him on, Federer found his rhythm and produced a comeback performance of such quality that it repeatedly brought the crowd to its feet.
“Honestly, I don’t know what they were chanting, if it was ‘Nole, Nole’, or ‘Roger, Roger’. It was like a blur,” Federer said.
It was, for the most part, “Roger, Roger”.
If, as Djokovic suggested, Federer’s support is continuing to swell, perhaps the reason could be aligned to the fact the seven-time Wimbledon champion’s elite career is approaching its end.
When he told fans on Thursday that he would be playing tennis for the next 10 years, he had his tongue firmly in his cheek: Playing and playing on Tour are two different things entirely, he had clarified, flashing that famously suave smile.
Like the Rolling Stones last Friday, Federer’s performance in the UAE seven days later was vintage. He knows and we know that his age is creeping up on him, but so long as he continues to compete with such verve, his support will only continue to grow. Who does not want to see a great at the top of his game when they still can?
“It was a very enthusiastic crowd, polite crowd, and it is like a dream playing in atmospheres like this,” Federer said. “I mean, they were already trying to create a Mexican wave five games in. I don’t know if that was because Novak was leading or it was to try to pump me up, but either way, it was great.”
The five-time Dubai champion plays Tomas Berdych in tonight's final. Tickets, unsurprisingly, are sold out.
Unlike U2, Federer’s fans have found what they are looking for.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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