Djokovic's match suspended in rainy Cincinnati

MASON, Ohio — Novak Djokovic’s quest for his first Western & Southern Open title ran into a different obstacle Thursday night, with batches of rain forcing his match against defending champion Grigor Dimitrov to be suspended overnight.

Roger Federer’s match against Leonardo Mayer was postponed until Friday as well, along with several others pushed back by daylong rain that made a mess of the brackets.

Djokovic came to Cincinnati hoping to build on the momentum of his Wimbledon title and get in shape for a deep run in the U.S. Open. He also dearly wants to win the only ATP Masters 1000 title that has eluded him — nobody has won all nine.

He and Dimitrov split the first two sets and then headed inside for a long rain delay. Djokovic broke Dimitrov to go up 2-1 in the third set, and more rain prompted play to be called off for the night. They’ll resume in the morning.

In the women’s bracket, Madison Keys used her forehand to beat Angelique Kerber — one of her toughest matchups — and advance to the quarterfinals in-between the storms.

Keys had lost five straight matches against No. 4 Kerber, but turned to her forehand to rally for a 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory. She hit 35 forehand winners , including the matchending shot for her first Cincinnati quarterfinals.

She’s expecting a lot of attention at the U.S. Open, where she reached the final last year and lost to Sloane Stephens — her best showing in a Grand Slam event.