Djokovic brushes past Federer for 1st Cincinnati title

Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic finally found a way past Swiss tennis master Roger Federer, as he defeated the latter 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets in the finals to win his first title of Cincinnati Masters here on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Serb, who won the Wimbledon Championships last month, was the runner-up of the Cincinnati Masters on five occasions. He had lost to Federer thrice.

In the high-octane match, both Federer and Djokovic started on a bright note, before the latter took centre stage and put the Swiss tennis ace under pressure. The duo were placed at 3-3 in the opening set, before Djokovic broke his opponent's serve to win the first set.

In the second set, Federer took a quick 2-0 lead against the World no 10 Serb. However, Djokovic recovered from the early setback and equalled 2-2. Again, the World number 2 Swiss took the lead, before Djokovic surged ahead and gained victory in a riveting contest that lasted for nearly 90 minutes.

In the process, Djokovic became the first player to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. He would be now looking to continue his rich vein of form in the US Open, which begins on August 27.

--ANI