MASON, OHIO—Novak Djokovic gave his racket to a fan and tossed his sweatbands into the stands. No need for mementos from this victory. The long-awaited Rookwood pottery trophy would be plenty.

Djokovic finally mastered the one tournament that’s eluded him, beating nemesis Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday for his first Western & Southern Open championship.

(Matthew Stockman / GETTY IMAGES)

He got the better of a nostalgic rematch — they hadn’t played in two years because of injuries — and broke through in a tournament that Federer has won seven times, never losing a title match.

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“Thank you for letting me win once in Cincinnati,” he told Federer as they stood on court for the trophy presentation.

After reaching the final five times and losing every time — three to Federer — Djokovic jumped and punched the air in celebration of his breakthrough. He’s the first to claim all nine ATP Masters 1000 events since the series started in 1990, something that had become his quest after so many close calls.

“That’s what the headline should be about — this is such an amazing accomplishment,” Federer said. “He’s the first to do it. I think it’s very difficult to win Masters 1000s. These performances don’t come easy.”

Djokovic leads their all-time series 24-22, doing better in the biggest matches. He’s 3-1 against Federer in Grand Slam finals and 12-6 overall in championship matches, including wins at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2015.

Djokovic completed a long comeback from elbow problems by winning his fourth Wimbledon title last month, then set out to get his hard-court game in order for the U.S. Open. He got better as the rainy week went on in Cincinnati, playing his best at the end.

“This seems to be a bit unreal, to be honest, to be back at this level,” he said.

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Federer’s serve had been untouchable all week — held for 46 consecutive games. Djokovic broke that streak to go up 4-3 in the opening set, prompting Federer to mutter angrily. Djokovic served out the set, and then traded breaks with Federer early in the second set.

Federer’s game was off — 28 unforced errors — and Djokovic took full advantage. He broke him again to go up 4-3 and served it out.

In the women’s bracket, top-ranked Simona Halep let a match point slip away during the second-set tiebreaker, and Kiki Bertens rallied for a 2-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2 victory in her first hard-court final.

Bertens served a 109 m.p.h. ace , flipped her racket away, fell to her knees and raised both arms. Moments later, she covered her face for a joyous cry, wiping the tears away with her sweat-soaked blue wristband.

One point away from another loss, she had pulled off her biggest win, one that left her as stunned as everyone else.

“I cannot find words for this moment,” she said.

The Dutch clay-court specialist ended Halep’s streak of nine straight wins, including the title at Montreal a week earlier. She’d never beaten a top-ranked player, but wore down Halep at the end of her two draining weeks.

During the week in Cincinnati, Halep had one match suspended overnight by rain and wound up playing twice in one day to reach the semifinals. She controlled the first set on Sunday and had a chance to close it out, leading 6-5 in the tiebreaker.

When that slipped away, she never recovered, playing her worst in the final set — 13 unforced errors that gave Bertens a chance to pull away.

“I had a match (point), so I was there,” Halep said. “I didn’t take my chance. In the third set , I was empty and I couldn’t fight anymore.”

Halep will be ranked No. 1 through the U.S. Open. She fell to 0-3 in Cincinnati finals, finishing as the runner-up in 2015 and each of the last two years.

“I need a little bit of rest because I’m exhausted,” Halep said. “But I also take the positive from these two weeks. It’s a great confidence (boost).”

Bertens has worked on her hard-court game and her confidence on the surface. In three previous appearances in Cincinnati, she won a total of one match. She became the first unseeded player to win in Cincinnati since Vera Zvonareva in 2006.</s>Tennis: Roger Federer is set to play twice today after a deluge of rain last night pushed back scheduling at the Cincinnati Masters.

THE Cincinnati Masters men’s final will be a blast from the past with Roger Federer set to take on Novak Djokovic for the title.

Federer cruised into the final after 11th seed David Goffin retired in the second set with the score at 7-6 (7-3) 1-1.

The Swiss master claimed the first set tie-breaker and the match was continuing on serve before Goffin pulled the plug due to a shoulder injury.

Federer said it was great to come up against Djokovic in the final.

The pair haven’t played in two years due to injury but have shared 17 previous tournament together with Djokovic holding an 11-6 edge.

“It’s great to be back in the finals, against Novak in particular,” Federer said.

“There’s a lot riding on the match. It’s great to refresh a rivalry we’ve had for many years.”

Federer holds an insane record at the Cincinnati Masters, having claimed seven titles and never lost a final.

Only Rafael Nadal has a better record in finals at any one tournament after tallying an 11-0 record in both the French Open and Barcelona finals.

He also continued several records at the event including 96 consecutive service games and 14 straight match wins.

Djokovic will have a mountain to climb to win his first Cincinnati final with his 0-5 record.

Cincinnati is the only ATP Masters 1000 title the Serbian superstar has yet to claim.

If he can win, he will be the first player to win all nine of the events since the series started in 1990.

Earlier, Djokovic defeated Marin Cilic 6-4 3-6 6-3 to move into the final.

The match will be the 18th title match of their careers with Djokovic holding an 23-22 lead in the overall head-to-head.

Despite the edge, Djokovic knows Federer will be the favourite.

“It would be the greatest challenge in Cincinnati, without a doubt, because he’s been dominating this tournament historically,” Djokovic said.

On the women’s side, world number one Simona Halep will play for the title a second year in a row against Dutch world 19 Kiki Bertens.

Halep has lost the title twice previously.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for me to play another final and win it,” she said.

The US Open is the next major on the calendar and will start on August 27.</s>REUTERS: Novak Djokovic finally got the title that had been missing from his resume as the Serb defeated Swiss world number two Roger Federer, his greatest rival, 6-4 6-4 to win the Cincinnati Masters on Sunday.

The championship was the only ATP Masters 1000 title the former number one had failed to win in his illustrious career and he finally broke the ice on his sixth try.

In doing so, the Wimbledon champion completed the first Career Golden Masters, having won titles in all nine of the tournaments in the series that began in 1990.</s>Novak Djokovic beat Swiss world number two Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win the Cincinnati title which was missing from his resume.

The championship was the only ATP Masters 1000 title the former number one had failed to win in his illustrious career and he finally broke the ice on his sixth try.

Federer, seven-time Cincinnati champion, lost for the first time in a final here and was also broken after holding serve at the event for 100 consecutive games.

In doing so, the Wimbledon champion completed the first Career Golden Masters, having won titles in all nine of the tournaments in the series that began in 1990.</s>Novak Djokovic finally won the tournament that had been eluding him, beating Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday for his first Cincinnati Masters title. The Serbian got the better of the players’ first meeting in nearly two years, and triumphed in a tournament that Federer has won seven times, never losing a final.

After Federer’s forehand sailed wide for the deciding point, Djokovic raised both arms and roared. Then he jumped and punched the air before giving his racket to a fan and tossing his sweatbands into the stands.

Djokovic is the first to claim all nine ATP Masters 1000 events since the series started in 1990. It had become his personal quest after he lost in Cincinnati finals on three previous occasions against Federer.

Djokovic leads the pair’s all-time series 24-22, dominating the biggest matches. He is 3-1 against Federer in grand slam finals and 12-6 overall in championship matches, including wins at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2015.

Djokovic completed a long comeback from elbow surgery by winning his fourth Wimbledon title last month, then set out to get his hard-court game in order for the US Open. He got better as the rainy week went on in Cincinnati, playing his best tennis at the end.

Federer’s serve had been untouchable all week, and he had held for 46 consecutive games. Djokovic broke that streak to go 4-3 up in the opening set, prompting Federer to mutter angrily. Djokovic served out the set, and then traded breaks with Federer early in the second set. Federer’s game was off, and he committed 39 unforced errors as Djokovic took full advantage. He broke him again in the second set to go up 4-3 and served it out.

In the women’s final, top-ranked Simona Halep let a match point slip away during the second-set tiebreaker, and Kiki Bertens rallied for a 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory in her first hard-court final.

One point away from another loss, she had pulled off her biggest win, one that left her as stunned as everyone else. “I cannot find words for this moment,” she said.

The Dutch clay-court specialist ended Halep’s streak of nine straight wins, including the title at Montreal a week earlier. She’d never beaten a top-ranked player, but wore down Halep at the end of her two draining weeks.

During the week in Cincinnati, Halep had one match suspended overnight by rain and wound up playing twice in one day to reach the semi-finals. She controlled the first set on Sunday and had a chance to close it out, leading 6-5 in the tiebreaker.

When that slipped away, she could not recover, with 13 unforced errors in the final set to give Bertens a chance to pull away. “I had a match [point], so I was there,” Halep said. “I didn’t take my chance. In the third set , I was empty and I couldn’t fight anymore.”

Bertens has worked on her hard-court game and her confidence on the surface. In three previous appearances in Cincinnati, she won a total of one match. She became the first unseeded player to win in Cincinnati since Vera Zvonareva in 2006.</s>Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will be the main attractions in Cincinnati this evening

The conditions saw the second round only finally completed on Thursday and Roger Federer had to play twice on Friday in order to ensure the semi-finals and final would take place as expected.

Federer beat Leonardo Mayer in double time before he was given a far stiffer challenge by fellow Swiss play Stan Wawrinka.

But the world No 2 came from a set down to win 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 despite playing well below his best and even falling out with the umpire during the second set over a missed line call.

He will now take on David Goffin for a place in yet another Cincinnati Masters final against either Novak Djokovic or Marin Cilic.</s>Novak Djokovic is through to the Cincinnati Masters semi-finals

Djokovic has won eight of the nine ATP 1000 events and needs to add the Cincinnati Masters title to complete the set.

The Serbian is well on track to achieving that accomplishment as he is in semi-final action against Marin Cilic this evening.

Djokovic has won 13 Grand Slam titles in his career - four less than Nadal and seven fewer than Federer.

But he does hold other achievements which could allow him to be held in the same esteem as the current top two players in the world.</s>Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep made quick work of their rain-delayed matches Friday afternoon and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open, facing the daunting challenge of playing a few hours later in extremely humid conditions.

Several days of rain turned the quarterfinals into an endurance test. Six men's and three women's singles matches were held over from Thursday because of rain.

Federer — the top player left in the men's bracket after No. 1 Rafael Nadal withdrew to get some rest — needed only 72 minutes to beat Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 7-6 (6), leaving him on course for yet another Cincinnati title. He's won a record seven despite missing the tournament the last two years because of injury.

Then, it was off for a little rest before an evening match against fellow Swiss player Stan Wawrinka, who advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Marton Fucsovics.

“Waiting around all day and hardly seeing any tennis obviously is never fun for the tournament and the fans,” Federer said. “So we're happy that the tournament is back underway. Today I tried to really focus on just the one match, not thinking that there is possibly going to be two.”

Djokovic's match against Grigor Dimitrov was suspended at the start of the third set on Thursday night. He finished off the defending champion 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, maintaining his hopes of a first Cincinnati title.

Dimitrov didn't drop a set last year while winning his first Masters title in Cincinnati. He also won his first two matches this week in straight sets, a streak that was broken by Djokovic on Thursday night before the rains came and the match was suspended with Djokovic up 2-1.

“I wish it didn't rain, for sure, last night,” Dimitrov said. “I just thought that even though I lost that second set, I was feeling well on the court.

“Today is a completely different day. The conditions are a little bit different. So yeah, everything came into play.”

With each win, Djokovic gets closer to the chance he covets — another appearance in the title match. He's never won at Cincinnati, going 0-5 in title matches. It's the only ATP Masters 1000 event that has eluded him.

Djokovic acknowledges he would especially enjoy winning the title, which would make him the only player to win all nine ATP Masters events.

Also Friday, Juan Martin del Potro and Nick Kyrgios split two tiebreakers before Del Potro prevailed in the third set for a 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-2 win. Del Potro will face David Goffin, who upset Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-4 to reach the Cincinnati quarterfinals for the first time in three tries.

On the women's side, No. 1 Simona Halep beat Ashleigh Barty 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. Halep has faced the most challenges from the rain, with one match suspended overnight Wednesday in the third set and then her third-round match held over for a day as well.

Barty, who lost to Halep in last week's Rogers Cup semifinals in Montreal, committed 32 unforced errors to Halep's 17. Halep is seeking her first Cincinnati championship after losing in the finals last year and 2015.</s>MASON – Come Sunday, Novak Djokovic won't just be chasing his first-ever Western & Southern Open title.

Djokovic will also be aiming for a distinction even tennis greats like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal haven't claimed.

It's an accomplishment the ATP World Tour has coined a phrase for – "Career Golden Masters" – and a win in Sunday's finale at the Lindner Family Tennis Center would make him the first player to earn that distinction.

The world-ranked No. 10 Djokovic once again earned passage to the Western & Southern Open's championship match Saturday via a semifinal win against No. 7-seed Marin Cilic (6-4, 3-6, 6-3).

A victory in Sunday's final would make Djokovic the first player to sweep all nine ATP Masters 1000 events, of which the Western & Southern Open is one, and that's the missing puzzle piece from Djokovic's Career Golden Masters accomplishment.

Sweeping the Masters 1000 events, along with sweeping tennis' traditional Grand Slam events and winning Olympic Gold is what earns a player Career Golden Masters designation.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the empty spot in his trophy case reserved for the Western & Southern Open's winner's trophy is that he's had five previous cracks at it.

"I mean, it's finals for me," Djokovic said. "The sixth time that I'll try to win the title, and obviously this time, you know, I'm hoping that I can get my hands on the trophy. I will give my best. Obviously, history is also on the line, and I'm aware of that and that motivates me even more."

Sunday will mark his sixth attempt at the Cincinnati title, and his second attempt at the Career Golden Masters in the

If there's a time to win a new title, now seems to be the opportune moment for Djokovic, who enters Sunday's final on a 10-match winning streak at the suburban Cincinnati tennis complex.

This year, he advanced past Steve Johnson, Adrian Mannarino, Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic and Cilic to reach his sixth career finals appearance in Greater Cincinnati.

Djokovic on Sunday will play the winner of the corresponding men's singles semifinal between world-ranked No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 11 David Goffin.

Djokovic's second chance at the Career Golden Masters

 Djokovic had a chance to wrap up his sweep of the Masters events and claim his gilded crown back in 2015. He lost that final to Federer, who took the trophy for the seventh time in his career.

It was yet another moment in the all-time series and coexistence between the players that Djokovic was overshadowed by Federer, now a 20-time major champion.

Asked in 2015 about what sweeping the Masters 1000 event would mean to him, Djokovic said: "Well, match is a match in the end of the day. 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.

"Final against either Roger or Andy is I think the best and the biggest challenge and the best final I can get in this moment. I played Andy less than a week ago in the finals in Canada; now I'm going to have an equally tough challenge to win tomorrow's title.

 As I said, I know what I need to do. Hopefully, I'll be able to lift up a notch my game at least for few levels higher so I can be in a good position to win it."

Asked about a possible rematch with Federer, Djokovic said he hoped

"Obviously, if we got a chance to play, we will play each other after a long time. We haven't played each other for quite some time, which is unusual, because I'm used to playing Roger, over the course of almost 10 years, I have played him so many times," Djokovic said. "Played him the most after the rivalry with Nadal. "He has influenced greatly -- the rivalry with him and him personally has influenced the evolution of my game. So, I mean, it would be the greatest challenge in Cincinnati, without a doubt, and many tournaments, especially here, because he's been dominating this tournament historically. He won against me several times in finals.



 "You know, obviously, he feels great in these conditions and this surface. But, you know, obviously he has to win his semifinals, and we'll see what happens tomorrow."

Possible matchups

 Local tennis fans are craving a Djokovic-Federer final, and that could very well come to fruition.

If it does happen, it would be something of a toss-up. Djokovic leads the all-time series between the players, 23-22.

The two tennis greats haven't played in more than two years, the last meeting in the Australian Open semifinals.

Djokovic has won the last two matches against Federer and six of the last eight meetings.

If Goffin advances to Sunday's final, Djokovic would likely be a decisive favorite as he leads that all-time series, 5-1.

Goffin and Djokovic last met in 2017 at Monte-Carlo. Goffin won the match in three sets.

"I think Goffin, I think he actually won against Roger the last time they played in London Masters World Tour Finals," Djokovic said. "I mean, he's very quick. He's one of the best movers in the game, very quick footwork. You know, beautiful backhand down the line, cross, he can hit it. It's just a great anticipation.

"He struggled also a little bit with injuries and consistency, dropped the ranking, but with his game, he deserves to be in the top 10 of the world. This week he's won against some great players, he's showing, in straight sets against De Potro and Anderson yesterday, which is quite impressive. You know, he can definitely surprise Roger. Roger is obviously the favorite, but he has the game to win against him and he has proven that in the past.



 "I think I have played against Goffin couple years ago here in semifinals. I mean, I have practiced with him a lot. I know his game. He's a good guy. As I said, very quick."</s>Novak Djokovic has become the first player to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles with a straight-sets win over Roger Federer in the final of Cincinnati Open.

The Serbian needed one hour and 24 minutes to secure a 6-4 6-4 victory and finally claim the trophy in his sixth final in Ohio - losing three previous deciders to Federer.

Djokovic converted on three of six break points to end Federer's streak of seven wins from as many finals at the main lead-up tournament to the US Open.
Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer in Cincinnati, becoming the first player to win singles titles in all nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in his career.