Last night, Novak Djokovic became the first tennis player in history to win all nine Masters 1000 tournaments after defeating Swiss excellency Roger Federer in the Cincinnati Open final.
Novak Djokovic wins Cincinnati Masters
This was Djokovic’s sixth final in Cincinnati, the only Masters 1000 that escaped him over the years. He lost on five previous occasions, three of them to yesterday’s opponent.
“It’s obviously a very special moment to stand here with the trophy in Cincinnati,”
“I’ve played five finals before and most of those I’ve lost to this great man. Thank you, Roger, for letting me win once here!”
The victory was Djokovic’s 24th in 46 matches against the 20-time Grand Slam champion, who has seven Cincinnati titles under his name. Federer himself was not happy with his performance on the court but did not want to take anything away from the Serb’s extraordinary accomplishment.
“It was definitely not my best day on the return – it was just awful,”
“Missing every second serve on the forehand side, I don’t know what that was about.”
“But I don’t even want to look for reasons why it happened,”
“Novak totally deserved to win today.”
“Congratulations to Novak for your amazing effort, not just this week, but throughout your whole career, it is an amazing achievement.”
Untimely double faults cost Roger Federer in Cincinnati
Bad timing on his double faults cost Roger Federer dearly as well. First, he double-faulted in the opening set to give Djokovic a break point, which the 31-year-old converted to take a 4-3 lead. He then closed out the set by defending his serve.
Bet365: Djokovic at US OPEN
Federer’s second untimely double fault happened at the beginning of the second set. He was up 2-0 but then allowed Djokovic to come back by missing both of his serves on break point. The 2018 Wimbledon champion broke again to take a 4-3 lead and ended the contest on his first match point after one hour and 23 minutes of play.
Novak Djokovic gaining momentum ahead of US Open
This Cincinnati final was the first match between the two rivals since Australian Open 2016. Novak Djokovic is coming back to his own after a rough period in his career in which he had to undergo and recover from elbow surgery. Winning Wimbledon and becoming the first man in history to complete a Golden Masters will go a long way towards him regaining his confidence.
Next up is the US Open, set to start on August 27. Djokovic has two titles at the Flushing Meadows, the last coming in 2015. Following his recent displays, he’ll come into the tournament as the favourite.
Bet365: Djokovic at US OPEN
On the women’s side of the draw, Kiki Bertens stunned World No.1 Simona Halep, saving a match point en route to a three-set victory.