CINCINNATI, August 19, 2018

Two former World No. 1 players meet for the 46th time when Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic face off on Sunday for the Western & Southern Open title. Both players maintained their perfect records in Cincinnati semi-finals (Federer is now 8-0, and Djokovic improved to 6-0) to set up their clash for the trophy.

The World No. 2 has been superb on serve throughout the week, winning his four matches without dropping serve and facing only five break points in total. By moving past David Goffin in Saturday’s semi-finals after the Belgian retired due to a shoulder injury, Federer extended his Cincinnati winning streak to 14 consecutive victories, dating back to his back-to-back title runs in 2014 and 2015. He missed the ATP Masters 1000 event the following two years.

Djokovic battles past Cilic

Djokovic, meanwhile, is on the verge of a historic occasion, standing one win away from becoming the first player to sweep all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles since the start of the series in 1990. The No. 10 seed from Serbia avenged a two-match losing streak to Marin Cilic in the semi-finals, picking up his 15th win in 17 meetings with the Croat to reach a sixth Cincinnati final. Djokovic battled past the Croat 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours and 32 minutes.

Four 3-setters in a row 💪

The moment @DjokerNole moved to within one step of his first #CincyTennis 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Tt0fbMNniX

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 18. August 2018

“I mean, it’s a final for me and the sixth time that I’ll try to win the title,” said Djokovic. “Obviously this time I’m hoping that I can get my hands on the trophy. I will give my best. History is also on the line and I’m aware of that and that motivates me even more.”

Djokovic leads the head-to-head record with Federer by a whisker-thin 23-22 margin, but the Swiss maestro has won the Western & Southern Open title seven times, while Djokovic is 0-5 in Cincinnati finals. The pair will meet for the first time since the semi-finals of the 2016 Australian Open.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1) For the fourth time, the Western & Southern Open men’s title will come down to a battle between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Federer is undefeated in W&S Open finals, and owns an all-time tournament record with seven titles. Djokovic is no stranger to these title matches, but he has yet to win here. He has gone 0-5 in finals, including three losses to Federer. Overall, Djokovic leads the head-to-head against Federer 23-22 and has taken three of the past four meetings.

2) World No.1 Simona Halep will be looking to win her second title in as many weeks when she faces Kiki Bertens in Sunday’s WTA final. Halep is appearing in her third W&S Open final in four years, and is seeking her first title here. Bertens is enjoying a Cincinnati breakthrough, having had a 1-3 record here prior to this year’s run. She comes into the final having won her last seven straight matches against Top 10 players. Halep owns a 3-1 advantage in her head-to-head series with Bertens.

3) Lucie Hradecka and Ekaterina Makarova won the first title of the tournament by claiming the women’s doubles over Elise Mertens and Demi Schuurs on Saturday night. The men’s doubles final will start play Sunday, with Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah facing Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares. All four players are looking for their first Cincinnati title.

RESULTS – SATURDAY, August 18, 2018
ATP Singles – Semifinals
[2] Roger Federer (Switzerland) d David Goffin (Belgium) 76(3) 11 ret. (shoulder)
[10] Novak Djokovic (Serbia) d Marin Cilic (Croatia) 64 36 63

WTA Singles – Semifinals
[1] Simona Halep (Romania) d Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) 63 64
Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) d [8] Petra Kvitova 36 64 62

ATP Doubles – Semifinals
[7] Juan Sebastian Cabal (Colombia) / Robert Farah (Colombia) d Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) / Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 76(5) 64
[4] Jamie Murray (Great Britain) / Bruno Soares (Brazil) d [6] Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) / Horia Tecau (Romania) 67(7) 62 10-6

ATP Doubles – Quarterfinals
Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) / Fernando Verdasco (Spain) d [3] Henri Kontinen (Finland) / John Peers (Australia) 26 76(2) 10-7
[4] Jamie Murray (Great Britain) / Bruno Soares (Brazil) d [5] Lukasz Kubot (Poland) / Marcelo Melo (Brazil) 75 67(6) 10-6
[6] Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) / Horia Tecau (Romania) d Feliciano Lopez (Spain) / Marc Lopez (Spain) 63 75
[7] Juan Sebastian Cabal (Colombia) / Robert Farah (Colombia) d Nikola Mektic (Croatia) / Alexander Peya (Austria) walkover (Peya – right elbow)

Women’s Doubles – Final
[7] Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) / Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) d [6] Elise Mertens (Belgium) / Demi Schuurs (Netherlands) 62 75

Women’s Doubles – Semifinal
6] Elise Mertens (Belgium) / Demi Schuurs (Netherlands) d Kaitlyn Christian (USA) / Sabrina Santamaria (USA) 61 64
[7] Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) / Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) d Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) / Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) 63 63