Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in Dubai.

The Dubai Tennis Championships has produced an array of memorable champions – but none can hold a candle to Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Two of the greatest tennis players of all time, Federer and Djokovic are incredibly the only men since the tournament first launched in 1993 to win multiple crowns at the event.

Roger Federer – Eight titles (2003-05, 2007, 2012, 2014-15, 2019)

Dubai was one of the most successful tournaments of Federer’s career, with the tennis icon lifting a staggering eight titles at the ATP 500 event.

The Swiss defeated Jiri Novak in the 2003 final to claim his first title and completed a successful ‘three-peat’ in 2004 and 2005 – thanks to victories over Feliciano Lopez and Ivan Ljubicic
respectively.

Federer’s stranglehold over the tournament was broken by a loss to Rafael Nadal in the 2006 final though the Swiss would regain his title in 2007, beating Mikhail Youzhny.

After defeat to Djokovic in 2011, the former world No 1 downed Andy Murray to claim his fifth title in 2012 and then claimed back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015, overcoming Tomas Berdych and then Djokovic.

Federer went on to claim his eighth and final title in 2019 with a straight-set win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Novak Djokovic – Five titles (2009-11, 2013, 2020)

With five titles to his name, Djokovic falls just short of Federer – though he is clear of any other player in tournament history.

The Serb beat David Ferrer in the 2009 final to capture his first Dubai title and, much like the Swiss, won his first three titles in a row.

Djokovic defeated Youzhny in three sets to complete a successful title defence in 2010, before his 2011 victory over Federer.

He then beat Berdych to claim his fourth title in 2013, though a straight-set defeat to Federer in 2015 ended hopes of a fifth title.

Djokovic did eventually go on to triumph for a fifth time, with victory over Tsitsipas in 2020.

Other notable champions

Federer and Djokovic are the only multiple champions in Dubai, but that does not mean that other big names have missed out on success in the Middle East.

As previously mentioned, Nadal defeated key rival Federer to triumph in 2006, while – following his 2012 defeat to Federer – Murray would beat Fernando Verdasco to prevail in 2017.

Other former world No 1’s to lift the Dubai title include Andy Roddick in 2008, Daniil Medvedev in 2023, and Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2001.

Past Grand Slam champions Stan Wawrinka, Thomas Muster, and Goran Ivanisevic are also all former champions.

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Can anyone join them in 2025?

There are a handful of men who could all become just the third man in tournament history to claim multiple titles this coming week.

Among those are Medvedev, who is the top seed in Dubai – though has not won an ATP title since May 2023.

Andrey Rublev lost the 2023 final to Medvedev but had previously won the title in 2022, and approaches the tournament having just won a 17th ATP title in Doha last week.

Reigning champion Ugo Humbert is also back to defend the title he won a year ago, with the Frenchman seeded fifth this week.

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