Roger Federer will head into the U.S. Open with major momentum after he took out world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to win his seventh title in Cincinnati.
Playing an attacking style of tennis, the 34-year-old Federer beat Djokovic, 7-6 (1), 6-3 to take the final at the Western & Southern Open for his seventh crown there in 16 appearances.
Federer’s win came 24 hours after he took out Andy Murray in straight sets in the semifinals.
Overall, Federer is 42-8 at the event.
“I think we really get the best out of each other, we’ve improved a lot over the years playing against each other and another run this week,” Federer said, directing his comments to Djokovic.
“I really hope that you can win here one day, all the best. Of course, he deserves it, come on.”
The win snapped a three-match losing streak to Djokovic, who beat Federer in four sets in the Wimbledon final last month.
Federer improved to 21-20 all-time against Djokovic, who will head into the U.S. Open having lost back-to-back finals to Murray in Canada and Federer in Cincinnati. Djokovic is now 0-5 in finals in Cincinnati.
“This is now the fifth time that I’ve been in the finals and never won this title and so I guess I have to wait for Roger to retire and then try to do something out there,” Djokovic said.
The U.S. Open begins Aug. 31, with the draw set for Thursday.
The draw will be key for Federer, who would have a tough time winning his sixth crown in Flushing Meadows if he has to beat two or three of Rafael Nadal, Murray and Djokovic en route to the title. Nadal looms as a potentially tough quarterfinal opponent for somebody.
The Open features a best-of-5 sets format, which is tougher for Federer than the best-of-3 format at Masters 1000 events.
Federer dominated the first-set tiebreak, taking it 7-1.
He then seized a 2-0 lead in the second set when Djokovic double-faulted on break point.
“I’ve been really trying, been giving it my best and today wasn’t the day,” Djokovic said. “I’ve been coming back each year wanting it more and more.”
Federer held serve at 5-3, closing the match out without dropping serve at the event.
“It’s very special,” Federer said. “I don’t know how many more years I can come back but now I’ll try my very best to be here many, many more years to come.”
