Serbia’s Novak Djokovic showed he’s well on his way to returning to elite form post-elbow injuries as he defeated Roger Federer 6-4 6-4 in the ATP Cincinnati Western & Southern Open final.
Djokovic played a solid match where he was the better player on serve, while Federer looked shaky and errant at key points in the contest. Djokovic pressured Federer at the start of the contest generating two break point chances in a long first game, and then he broke Federer in the 7th game of the match, going to serve out the set without any pressure on his own serve.
Djokovic Becomes First Tennis Player in History to Win All Four Slams and All Nine Masters
In set 2 Federer had an opening going up a break, but he lost his serve two out of the next three service games while Djokovic didn’t face another break point. From 4-3 Federer crumbled even further, firing errors both from net and the baseline to go down 5-3. and nearly get broken again to lose the match. Djokovic couldn’t break, but in the next service game he put the finishing touches on his masterpiece Masters title.
Djokovic becomes the first player in ATP history to win all four of the prestigious Grand Slams and all nine of the ATP’s elite Masters Series Events. Djokovic had previously struggled in Cincinnati and against Federer at the venue, but after his first h2h win here he became a first time champion in Cinci. Djokovic should head into the US Open now as a co-favorite; he seems fully fit and firing at what looks to be a pivotal time in his career.
Federer grinded out some tough quality wins but he wasn’t at his best in the final when he needed it most. All but one of Djokovic’s victories came in three sets during the tournament.
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