Washington: Switzerland’s Roger Federer beat Serbian world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 in the final of the Western & Southern Open to win his seventh title in Cincinnati.
“I don’t know how many more years I can come back, but I’ll try my best,” the 34-year-old Federer said on Sunday. The 17-time Grand Slam champion now has a 21-20 career record against Djokovic. The Swiss great, who also won the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014, needed one hour and 30 minutes to beat Djokovic. “I guess I have to wait for Roger to retire,” Djokovic joked during the trophy presentation ceremony, referring to his failure to win the event. Djokovic has been in four finals but has never won a title in Cincinnati.
Federer, who will move up to world No. 2 when the new ATP rankings come out on Monday, converted just one of eight break opportunities, but it came early in the second set and he never looked back. The Swiss star played aggressively and finished the match with 32 winners to Djokovic’s 19. As he did throughout the week in Cincinnati, Federer attacked the net whenever he saw an opportunity for a quick point. The Western & Southern Open is one of the biggest events on the ATP and WTA calendars and a key tune-up for the US Open, which gets underway on August 31.
