Reuters
Cincinnati, August 24: Roger Federer avenged his Wimbledon final loss to Novak Djokovic by beating the top-seeded Serb 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 to capture his second consecutive Cincinnati title here Sunday.
The Swiss second seed, playing Djokovic for the first time since losing to him in the Wimbledon final, brought his record number of Cincinnati titles to seven with the win.
Federer, who did not concede a service break all week, easily handled his service games throughout the match, losing only 13 points on his serve. He also employed an attacking style that gave Djokovic fits, winning 15 of 21 net points in the first set.
After cruising through the first set tiebreak, Federer earned the only break of the match in the second game of the second set en route to sealing the win in 90 minutes.
“I tried to really mix it up on his second serve and I was hoping to serve good enough myself to keep me out of trouble,” Federer said in his courtside interview.
“He had that one bad game at the beginning of the second set, which made the difference in the match,” he added.
With the win, Federer also denied Djokovic from completing the set of all nine ATP Masters titles and took a 21-20 edge in career head-to-head meetings.
“I knew coming into the match he was going to be aggressive. No question about it. So I tried to handle it. I did well until the tiebreak in the first set. After that, he was just the better player,” Djokovic said.
“It’s now the fifth time I’ve been in this final. I guess I’ll have to wait until Roger retires,” he joked.
Federer revealed his humourous side by replying to this comment of the Serb, “You (Djokovic) are a fantastic player, but sorry mate I am going to play for some more years. Be sure whether you want to participate or not.”
Federer will now move into second spot in the world rankings Monday, which means the two rivals could meet again in the final at Flushing Meadows.
After the match, Federer assessed his game going into the year’s final grand slam.
“Good, regardless of whether I would have won or not,” said Federer. “I was well prepared. I had a good Wimbledon, a good offseason, recovered well and trained really hard. I knew I was going to be ready for the Open.”
