Table of Contents
Federer Surprises Djokovic to Win 7th Cincinnati Title
Congrats to Federer on a much deserved seventh title in Cincinnati yesterday. I can easily say I told you so, that Federer had it coming after losing three big finals to Djokovic, or that it was inevitable with the Cincinnati court speed. I mean let’s face it, Federer keeps winning the matches on faster courts over the best of three sets. But I’d rather focus on the fact that Federer surprised Djokovic in my opinion.
Opening Set
- Second Set
- Final Thoughts
- Highlights
is in your court.
Posted in Cincinatti, Masters 1000.
65 Comments
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Nice post Ru-an. It’s quite telling that Fed can beat Djokovic in a big final at this point in his career, especially when the stakes were so high for Djokovic. Once he wins Cincy, which I’m sure Djoker will eventually do, that’s an unprecedented record in tennis, and it does bode very well for his inclusion in the GOAT debate. Especially so if he wins all 4 GS and all 9 MS, which basically means he’s won all the big events out there. As far as this final was concerned, this is my perspective about it- Djoker knew he had a good chance to win, since Fed hadn’t beaten him in a big final since Cincy 2012. In the first set, he looked focused and determined, showing a lot of clutch play to stay ahead in the scoreboard. What he( and many spectators) probably expected was that Fed succumbs to pressure at the end of the set, or maybe in the TB. Djoker knew winning the first set would be very vital for his prospects of winning, since in the last 2 matches on similar surfaces, he failed to win even a set against Fed. Credits to Fed for showing no signs of nerves whatsoever. The TB might be one of the best he has played ever, or atleast against Djoker. The BH return on the rise at 3-1 in the TB was like a final knockout blow for Djoker. His reaction after that point, where he almost smashed his racquet again, proves it. Once the first set was done, he knew he had no chance anymore. If the surface had been slower, it would still be 50-50, since there have been a lot of times when Djoker came back from a set down to beat Fed. It was quite strange actually to see him check out mentally in the 2nd set though. Especially conceding 3 DF in a game to get broken. So long story short, Djoker was hoping to end the losing streak against Fed on fast hard courts, and tried his best in the first set, and once he lost it, he knew he couldn’t win it anymore. On the other hand, Fed was quite smart himself. He said in the interview to SKY sports after his SF win, when asked about the significance of the match for his no. 2 seeding at USO, that the focus should be on Djoker and the career golden slam. He was cautiously optimistic about his chances, while at the same time preferring to stay out of the spotlight. P.S. One more thing I realised while watch the Djoker vs Dolgo SF was that Djoker might actually use the rope-a-dope tactic most of the times when he seems injured. I know it’s hard to determine what actually transpires with him, but there is a slight possibility that he was faking injury that day. I’m not being judgmental when I say this, but for a while, this behavior reminded me about dull and his antics. That made me doubt for a while whether I should like Djoker as much as I do now. I’m still ready to give him the benefit of doubt though, and he’s still my second favorite player.
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Ru-an Reply: August 25th, 2015 at 12:40 pm
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Charlie Reply: August 25th, 2015 at 2:36 pm Haha, just trolling everyone by losing in Montreal and Cincy to sweep the USO without dropping a set or something, right?
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Nakul Reply: August 25th, 2015 at 7:03 pm https://twitter.com/CaroGrgicevic/status/636245588187684864 Guess who this is
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Joe Reply: August 25th, 2015 at 8:47 pm Masterly put-down – as usual.
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Good stuff, Ru-an. Great match, from the Fed perspective. I didn’t think it was close. Body language, ball striking, dictating points, the much discussed strategy of Rog. . . it was embarrassing, actually, but in the bigger picture we know this does not mean Novak is doomed lol. Hoisting the goods in NYC will cure all. But seriously, Djokovic looked like he was barely alive, a couple of brilliant passes to keep the monster from tearing him to shreds in the first set. How about that nod of assurance he gave his box after DF x3 to lose his serve early in the 2nd. Damn. Beatdown.
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Matt Reply: August 25th, 2015 at 7:56 pm Rog is six years his senior. Either way (and of course the series has been even), Roger’s current form is ridiculous. USO should be interesting. The big three are all in the mix with question marks alongside each one.
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Hari Reply: August 27th, 2015 at 1:46 pm If by chance Federer makes the final, he wont be the favourite unless the opponent is not Djokovic. Firstly he cant have his own way there as the court is slower than Cincinatti for sure. Secondly, his body doesn’t seem to recover the wear and tear of a 5 setter these days. He can play 4 sets for sure but if he is stretched to a 5th set, he is bound to lose the next round even if he closes out the 5th set that particular match. Thirdly and basically, I have not seen a totally in-prime player losing to a 34 year old legendary champion. You may say he is ranked no.2 and all but I just can’t see Djokovic losing to Federer unless the courts are fast and Federer is serving like he did against Murray in Wimbledon which in my opinion is just a 5% probability. On the whole, Federer is surely playing really well and clearly still has it in him but to expect a Grand Slam from him I believe is too much.
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The second serve attack is one he can use more on the quicker courts like Shanghai, Paris and Cincy. I don’t think Federer will use this tactic at the US Open unless he’s some way ahead in the scoreline – most likely in the first 2 rounds when he’s already 2 sets up or something like that. I have to say, it’s worked well over the past week – the matches he played against Anderson and Djokovic were particularly good to watch. Novak will look to win the US Open to cap off another great season, but I could see Murray really pushing for this one. Best scenario for Murray is to draw Federer in his half, hope he (Fed) crashes out before the semis and have a lot left in the tank for a potential final against Djokovic.
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Krish Reply: August 25th, 2015 at 6:14 pm I agree with that Charlie, I said I don’t believe that he will actually use it on those kinds of points.
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“I could have done some things better, but I lost to a better player, no question about it. I have to deal with it.” http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/cincinnati-2015-sunday-djokovic-reaction Always gracious in defeat.
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Nadal and Djoker in the same quarter; Nadal to play Coric first round. It should be interesting!
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Bharata Reply: August 27th, 2015 at 7:14 pm Yes, I was wrong because I earlier predicted the draws are ‘partially’ rigged to ensure a dramatic Federer-Nadal quarter to get the US viewer interested. Actually Djokovic has a simpler half I think, he avoided Murray and Wawrinka. His biggest seed is Nishikori who probably will twist his ankle or something before the tournament starts
Also he avoided Berdych, who is in Fed’s quarter. We all remember 2012.
Interestingly Murray has Kygrios in his opener. That should be a lesson in manners..
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Hi Ruan, well obviously I want My boy Roger to win like I always do, but I’m interested and a lot of other things too, Djokovic having a chance to pull closer to evening his head to head with Nadal, hoping Donald Young does well. (He grew up in my city and was a big influence for us and I hate seeing him under perform), and this is kind of the last stand for the year for the less talked about top players (Gasquet, Dimitrov, Thiem, Kyrigos). But anyway, I’m curious, who would you say is Djokovics biggest rival. I thought about that today watching Pre US Open tennis highlights on YouTube
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Darrell Robbins Reply:
August 29th, 2015 at 8:06 pm
And I mean right now and over the big picture of his entire career
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