Cincinnati Masters | Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer to become first man to win all 9 Masters 1000 titles

Djokovic, who came up empty in the five prior Cincinnati finals, defeated the Swiss legend 6-4, 6-4 in the final. Federer’s streak of 100 straight unbroken service games in Cincinnati Masters was ended by the Serbian in the seventh game of the first set. The 37-year-old had been aiming for a 99th career trophy but was unable to get over the line due in part to four double-faults at the wrong moments. Djokovic claimed the opening set in 37 minutes and came back from an early break in the second to win the title.

In the post-match interview, Djokovic expressed his happiness by stating his dream to win the title and further thanked Federer for letting him win the title once after multiple attempts.

“This is a dream come true. I finally won Cincinnati after six finals, some against the greatest ever, Roger. I played five finals here before, and most of those finals I lost to this great man (Roger Federer). Thank you for letting me win here once,” Djokovic said.

The Serbian further concluded by speaking about the difficult phase during his injury and felt wonderful after bagging the title.

“It’s a wonderful feeling. It has been a couple of tough months for me with an injury and then winning the Wimbledon and Cincinnati,” he added.

On the other hand, Federer, humble as always, congratulated the Serbian star on his achievement and said that it was not his (Federer’s) best game. However, Federer did not want to take anything away from Djokovic and further felt that his opponent deserved to win the match.

“Novak is a great champion. This is about him making history. It was definitely not my best day on the return. I missed every second serve on the forehand side, I don’t know what that was about. I do not want to take anything away from Novak by focusing on my faults, he thoroughly deserved to win today,” Federer said.