Roger Federer Thwarts Novak Djokovic To Win 7th Cincy Title
August 24, 2015 — All week Roger Federer looked youthful. He ran around the quick blue hard courts in Mason, Ohio, as if he were just beginning his career rather than just having celebrated his 34th birthday. His response to some serves had him returning a couple feet from the service line. The crafty move crowded his opponents, leaving most with nothing to do but error in his favor.
In doing so, Federer wrapped up the week with his seventh Western & Southern Open title defeating Novak Djokovic, 7-6(1), 6-3, who was looking for his first Cincinnati title. Had the No. 1 seed beaten Federer, he would have had all 9 Masters 1000 tournaments on his resume. But Federer thwarted the Serbian just as Stan Wawrinka thwarted him in Paris this spring, denying Djokovic the only Grand Slam he hasn’t won … Roland Garros.
“It’s now the fifth time that I’ve been in the finals and I’ve never won this title,” Djokovic said, during the awards presentation. “So I guess I have to wait for Roger to retire, then try to do something after.”
Djokovic’s comment drew laughs from fans, but his comment had hidden meaning. Djokovic has been beaten three times now by Federer in the finals of this tournament: 2009, 2011, and 2015.
The victory notched up Federer’s ranking from No. 3 to No. 2, as the start of the U.S. Open looms a week from today. This means he will be seeded No. 2 at the last Grand Slam of the year while Djokovic will be seeded No. 1. They would only meet in the final, as a result. Federer casually said he didn’t think the seeding mattered. But for fans, a U.S. Open final featuring these two blockbuster players would be anything but a casual encounter.
Photo Credit Leslie Billman tennisclix.com
August 19, 2015 — Stan Wawrinka survived a charge from teen Borna Coric today in Mason, Ohio, but the French Open Champion Wawrinka fought hard to pull off the win, 3-6, 7-6(3) 6-3. Wawrinka’s back became a problem in Montreal last week and apparently was not 100% today. Additionally, the emotional fallout from the crass comments hurled at Wawrinka from Australian Nick Kyrgios, during their Montreal match, still weigh heavily on his mind.
Sky Sports talked with Wawrinka after the match, asking him how he was feeling about the uproar conceived in Canada.
“Today I’m happy with the way I was fighting, even if I was playing bad tennis. But most important is the win,” Wawrinka began. “I’m trying to put [it] away. But what happened, people don’t see exactly the consequence for everybody. So, I’m trying to put it away.”
He said that Kyrgios has not apologized to him directly. Kyrgios was fined $12,500 by the ATP, and did release an apology on his Facebook page for the incident. Wawrinka plays Ivo Karlovic next.
Photo credit Leslie Billman tennisclix.com
August 19, 2015 — Rogers Cup Champion Belinda Bencic is on the roll of her life. Last week in Toronto, the teen burst through the draw defeating four top-ten players … including 21-time Grand Slam Champion Serena Williams. Looks like Bencic is headed in the same direction this week in Mason, Oh., too. She played Angelique Kerber (No. 11) yesterday and defeated her 7-5, 6-3, for the second consecutive week. Today the Swiss star defeated Flavia Pennetta, 6-1 6-4. Next up for Bencic is Lucie Safarova, this year’s French Open singles runner-up. She defeated CoCo Vandeweghe today, 6-4 7-5. Bencic could meet Williams in the semifinals.
