Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) in the second semifinal of Cincinnati Masters on Saturday.
Defending champion Roger Federer will face top seed Novak Djokovic, who beat Ukrainian qualifier Alexander Dolgopolov 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, in the final of the tournament on Sunday. British number one Murray lost the first set to some impeccable strokes from the Swiss. But the second set was fiercely contested by both the players and the match lasted an hour and 37 minutes.
The 34-year-old has never lost a Cincinnati title match and will be hoping to keep that winning track this year too. Basel-born Federer has won 17 Grand Slam singles titles and held world number 1 position for record 302 weeks. Moreover, he has reached the Wimbledon final ten times and he is one of the seven men in the history of tennis to capture a Career Grand Slam.
The Swiss international defeated Murray for the fifth time in a row, taking his record against the Briton to 14-11. Federer can reclaim the world number two ranking if he will be victorious in Sunday’s final. He is eyeing to win the event for record seventh time, winning Cincinnati Masters in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014.
On the Contrary, world number one Novak Djokovic is one win away to become the first singles player to complete a collection of nine ATP World Tour Masters. Despite four final appearances, the Serbian international has never won in Cincinnati and needs the title to achieve a Career Golden Masters.
“Of course somewhere in back of your mind you do have that awareness of what’s at stake, but generally it’s a match like any other,” said Djokovic. “I just want to believe that fifth is the lucky time,” he added.
Both the players have faced each other for 40 times and each of them has won 20 times. IMAGE/livetennis.com
