Novak Djokovic has reached the final of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati. In a close semi-final, the Serbian won 6:3, 2:6 and 6:3 against the Croatian Marin Cilic.
After two strenuous matches the day before, Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic had to take his next endurance test. On the other side of the net, Marin Cilic fought for the final in Ohio.
And the “Djoker” started the game with a lot of verve and was able to take the serve off his opponent in the third game of the first Cincinnati semi-final. At the beginning, Cilic seemed overwhelmed by the Serbian’s aggressive style of play and made a few mistakes.
At 3-2 for Djokovic, Cilic made his first break point but could not take his chance. So it was Djokovic who turned his first set ball into a deserved 6:4 set lead after almost an hour of play.
For the start of the second round, Ohio spectators saw a bravely playing Cilic, who rewarded himself with an early break and a quick 3-0 lead.
The Croatian acted with hard baseline shots and did not hesitate with net attacks. Djokovic’s defensive skills could not withstand the onslaught of his opponent and so the world ranking tenth ran behind.
Another break for the world number seven for 5-1 left Djokovic’s hopes of a turn in the second set faded and Cilic served without problems for a 6-2 set equaliser.
Novak Djokovic should have saved the best in his game for the final round and the ex-number-one struck right at the beginning of the third round. With solid baseline tennis and his usual strong endurance, he forced Cilic to make mistakes and took the lead with a break and 3:1.
However, the battle for a place in the final should not be over yet. With a double mistake he gave away the next service game and Cilic grabbed the immediate re-break.
At the decisive moment, however, Cilic revealed a small weakness and Djokovic bit uncompromisingly too. At 3-4, Cilic had already fended off two break points, but Djokovic finally broke them with an outstanding forehand winner. The Serbian converted his second match point and has the chance to be the first player to win all Grand Slams and all Masters tournaments at least once.