
Murray, 24, currently ranked number four, improved his game during the second set and led 4-3 against Federer, but the Swiss multi-Grand Slam champion showed nerves and brought the victory home after scoring a second match point after one hour and 36 minutes on the Dubai hard court.
For Federer, Saturday's victory was a healing of his 2011 defeat, when he lost the Dubai final against the current ATP leader Novak Djokovic from Serbia. This year, Djokovic lost the semifinal against finalist Murray.
Xinhua