Federer reaches Cincinnati Masters tennis final
Swiss world number one Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic of Serbia will contest the Cincinnati Masters final on Sunday after both claimed semi-final victories.
Federer beat holder Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6 (8) while Djokovic defeated former world number one Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-1, 6-4.
Federer broke serve twice in the first set and then saved two set points in the tiebreak to reach the final.
“It was just overall a very good performance,” said Federer, who beat world number two Murray for only the third time in their nine meetings.
“I stayed aggressive. I was always looking to make the plays and I think in the end I deserved to win, just because I wasn’t scared to go after my shots. And I think I served well.”
Attacking from the start, Federer broke Murray’s serve in the fourth and eighth games to take the first set.
The Briton battled hard to stay on terms in the second set and forced two set points, at 6-5 and 8-7.
But Federer saved the first with a big serve and the second when Murray’s attempted backhand pass landed inches wide, before going on to win it 10-8.
In three of their most recent four meetings, Federer won the first set only to lose the match.
This time, the Swiss said, he felt he would have been confident of victory even had the match gone to a decider.
“(In some of the matches), I really felt like, this is going to get really hard in the third set. I kind of felt it coming that I was not going to win the match.
“Today was different. Even if I were to lose that second set, I would have been in the match with a good mindset. I played a really good match.”
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