Roger Federer Reclaims Dubai Title over Andy Murray

If one would have, at 4-3 in the first set on Saturday's finals, known later on that Roger Federer would go on to claim 10 of the next 15 games, it would not have been believed. Yet he did just that and reclaimed his crown at Dubai by defeating world No. 4 Andy Murray, 7-5, 6-4.

In the end it just seemed all too preordained, all too simple. Of course it wasn't, but the beauty of Federer playing at such full flight on a swift hard court like Dubai's, is his ability to make any opponent look limp and lacking.

As it traditionally does, Dubai comes before a stretch of American hard court Masters tournaments and having again had this year a star-studded draw, there are consequences arising from Federer's imperious win.

Here are a few of the main things to draw from the final:

1. The Federer Forehand Works Treats Against Murray

With Federer-Nadal or Djokovic-Nadal, there are insidious patterns of play.

Nadal used to own the both of them with his heavy topspin forehand curlers, until Djokovic complicated things with a laser backhand.

When Federer played Murray, there was always a sense that with both players being so talented and creative every rally would go slightly differently.

Murray doesn't have the heavy topspin to bother Federer's backhand and doesn't quite attack with his backhand, or forehand, enough to bother Federer. Instead, we saw the winning game plan Federer can employ against the Scot—the off-forehand to Murray backhand.

It is a play almost as effective as the matchup between Nadal's forehand to Federer's backhand, because Murray doesn't have anything of the sturdiness on his backhand side to resist the pounding forehands of Federer. Yesterday it did critical damage, as it has in all of Federer's wins over Murray.

2. Murray Might Not Yet Be Ready for That Really Big Slam Win

Yes, it's premature to speculate about fortunes from one match, and admittedly a minor one played against one of tennis' all-time greats on a speedy court which favored him. But it is a surface Murray enjoys, too, and he failed to capitalize.

He lacked—as we have seen so often—the offensive, go-grab-it attitude he will need to claim bigger scalps.

Against Federer he has traditionally thrived on drilling indecision into the Swiss, but we missed the focused aggression we saw against Nadal in Tokyo last year, and Djokovic at the Australian Open.

At critical moments he lapsed into passivity, and while that did beat Roger at Shanghai and Montreal in 2010, it isn't a winning formula for Slam success. Efforts are best rewarded at the biggest stages, but the smaller ones count, too.

3. This Is a Huge Win for Federer

While we contemplate the subtle failings for Murray on a small stage, it's worth noting that for Federer, this is the best win he's had for a year.

All his tournament victories since victory over Nadal at London in 2010 have come at the hands of lesser-tier (great players, still, of course) rivals—the likes of Davydenko, Tsonga and Del Potro last week.

But Murray was a step up, and having lost the last two finals he played against him two years ago, a win here would have hugely boosted confidence.

Admittedly it's a faster court, but it only gives reason to suspect that Federer should always be a de facto favorite at Flushing Meadows, which plays somewhat like this.

The truth is, Federer is the king of the fast courts (indoors most of all) and victory over Murray, a man of similar inclinations in this regard, is promising.

In a sense Djokovic, Nadal and Murray, for all Federer's recent success, seemed just a step up even from the Swiss, in the last few months.

Epic performances at Melbourne, the grandeur of youth and Murray's stunning victories over Nadal in Tokyo and Djokovic in Cincinnati counting slightly towards such an image. But Federer confronted this mirage, and for the moment has made us rethink it.

To put it in some perspective, having a 30-year-old Federer beat a prime-aged Murray, 24, would have been like Agassi beating Federer here, in their match in 2005.

It's really not a bad effort for someone who is supposed to be on the down slide. The best part for Federer fans is that it's quite difficult telling the difference between that match in 2005, and this in 2012.