Murray forced to concede he was second-best to dominant Federer

The British No 1 was unable to repeat his semi-final heroics as his Swiss opponent racked up the 72nd title of his career.

The day after inflicting a first defeat of the season on world No 1 Novak Djokovic, Murray went down 7-5 6-4 in just over 90 minutes.

The Scot did break the 16-time grand slam champion for the first time in the tournament, but Federer always looked to have the edge.

Murray’s serve, which had been so impressive against Djokovic, deserted him in the final, as his first-serve percentage dropped below 50 per cent and he won just 56 per cent of points on his second serve.

And despite Murray saving the first match point, Federer took the second with a booming forehand to clinch victory and his fifth Dubai crown.

“It’s been a good week, I’ve had a couple of good wins against (Tomas) Berdych and Novak and then it was always going to be a tough challenge against Roger,” he said.

“He got the better of the match, played a better match and deserved to win. I was very happy to reach the final, but obviously I would liked to have gone one better.”

The three-time major finalist had beaten Federer in the last two finals they had been in – Shanghai and Toronto in 2010 – but his opponent was too good this time.

“Winning’s the best, it solves everything,” said Federer. “I’m really happy it went so well. It’s a wonderful tournament to play, and to win is even better.”

n David Ferrer steamrollered Fernando Verdasco 6-1 6-2 to claim the Abierto Mexicano Telcel title in an all-Spanish final.

It was an easy day at the office for the top seed and two-time defending champion, who needed just 70 minutes to wrap up the victory without facing a single break point.

In the women’s event, third seed Sara Errani beat fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta 5-7 7-7 (7/2) 6-0.

n British pair Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins beat Mikhail Elgin and Denis Istomin 7-6 (8/6) 6-4 to book their place in the final of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, where they will face Michal Mertinak and Andre Sa.

South African Kevin Anderson upset top seed John Isner 7-5 7-6 (7/4) to book a spot in the men’s singles final against Australian Marinko Matosevic.