Roger Federer goes into attack mode at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Roger Federer feels at home as he cruises to a first-round win over Germany's Benjamin Becker at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv
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00:00Roger Federer opened his bid for a sixth title in Dubai with an easy workout, beating Benjamin
00:13Becker of Germany 6-1, 6-4.
00:15The Swiss was aggressive from the outset, attacking the net at every given opportunity.
00:19Yeah, no, I'm extremely happy with today's match.
00:23Coming out and playing free tennis like that right off the bat is a good feeling.
00:27I go in and expect myself to win.
00:30The beginning of the match is very important to show your opponent that you want to win,
00:36that you're playing aggressive, that's in your racket, not in his racket.
00:39Although it was a one-sided affair, both players produced some fantastic shots, including Federer
00:44digging a valley between his legs for a winning lob that's sure to be the shot of the day.
00:49Yeah, it's rare for me to win that point with the lob in that circumstance.
00:53I know I can hit it, but it's always exciting.
00:56It's so rare to get that opportunity to line it up because it's a safe shot for me almost
01:00to a degree.
01:01It was exciting and the fans enjoyed it, which is almost as important as winning the point.
01:06Federer's off-season training in Dubai last December may have helped him settle in quite
01:11easily, unlike in previous years when he struggled against much lower-ranked opponents in the
01:15first round.
01:16The Swiss feels so at home in Dubai, he's decided against his usual routine of staying
01:20in a hotel.
01:21Instead, Federer goes home to his pregnant wife and twin daughters at their own apartment
01:26in Dubai.
01:27Hotel, I'm not so much hotel.
01:28I just gotta make sure I know I'm playing a tournament when I'm staying at home.
01:31Normally I'm not.
01:32Normally I'm in a hotel and that puts me in the right mindset.
01:34This year just felt like, you know, it's another, if I check into the hotel, it just feels like
01:38I'm leaving Dubai already, almost, in some crazy way.
01:42So I just like, you know, with the kids, they love it at home right now, so let's enjoy that.
01:46The win puts Federer two matches closer to a widely anticipated semi-final showdown with
01:51defending champion Novak Djokovic.
01:53Giovanni Tabada for Golf News.