Reuters
Cincinnati, August 23: Top seed Novak Djokovic and defending champion Roger Federer advanced to the final of Cincinnati Masters in contrasting fashion here Saturday to set up a rematch of their title-deciding SW19 clash.
Djokovic rallied to beat Ukrainian qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 while the Swiss second seed beat third seed Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6 (8-6).
Djokovic, who needs a win Sunday to become the first player to claim all nine ATP Masters titles, lost the first set but escaped a nervy second-set tiebreak that took the wind out of his 66th-ranked opponent’s sails.
In the tiebreak, Djokovic was two points from defeat at 4-5 but dug deep and found a way to escape the jam, ultimately taking the set with a cross-court forehand winner.
Djokovic had squandered a chance to level the match in the ninth game of the second set when he was broken to love before the players each held serve over the next three games to force the tiebreak.
The Serb then broke a disheartened Dolgopolov twice en route to ending the match in two hours, 20 minutes.
Completing the set of ATP Masters titles will be no easy feat for Djokovic with six-times Cincinnati champion Federer standing in his way.
The Swiss got off to a fast start against Murray, earning a break in the third game of the match en route to capturing the first set in 38 minutes with a forehand winner down the line.
The players rode their serves to a tiebreak in the second set, where Federer went on to convert on his second match point.
Stats
Djokovic has 24 Masters 1000 titles while Federer has 23
Head to head in all competitions: Djokovic 20–20 Federer.
Head to head in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals: Djokovic 4–2 Federer