The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsRoger Federer has captured his seventh Cincinnati title after he produced an outstanding performance to defeat Novak Djokovic 7-6 6-3.
The Serbian world number one was trying to capture his first trophy at the Western and Southern Open, but found Federer in blistering form as the Swiss maestro secured the first set tie-break before easing through the second set to seal the win.
In the opening set, Djokovic was under pressure early on as Federer’s aggressive play threatened to force the first break of serve. The world number one was able to save a couple of break points, but as the set progressed, Djokovic was much more solid on serve. Despite this, Federer was cruising through his own service games and this meant that the set would eventually reach a tie-break. In the tie-break, the Swiss maestro continued to attack and a series of winners and impressive net play saw him build a healthy lead. The world number had simply no response to his opponent’s forceful intent, as Federer thoroughly dominated the tie-break to clinch the first set.
As the second set got underway, Federer quickly took control of the match and consecutive double faults from Djokovic handed him the early break to race to a commanding 3-0 lead. The Serbian showed great resistance to hang onto his own serve at 4-1 down as his opponent pressed for the double break advantage, but the former world number one continued to serve immaculately as Djokovic was unable to gain any foothold into Federer’s service games. The Swiss maestro sustained an incredible level throughout, and completed the victory when Djokovic placed a backhand return wide.
